My Melodie
by IwriteUread
Summary: Melodie's life is pretty normal-for a girl with wings. But when a mysterious boy named Casper literally flies into her life, Melodie's boring life takes an exciting, terrifying turn. REVIEW OF FANG IN CHAPTER 15! COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**Guess What! I'm back! With a Vengeance! **

**Okay, not really, but whatever.**

**Welcome to my new story! After the success of my last story (well, I thought it was successful, it had 88 reviews), I'm back to write yet **_**another**_** Own Character story! Which is a bit coincidental, since I used to hate Own Character stories, and the first two proper fan fics I am writing are OC stories. It's just plain weird. **

**Sooo, anyway, for my last story, I did a disclaimer and a claimer for ****every****,**_** single**_** chapter! Which basically got a bit annoying in the end. So here are my claimers for the WHOLE story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride or anything to do with it. Apart from my books. Which I bought…With my mum's money…**

**Claimer: I own the plot and my own characters, which you will meet soon! **

**Oh, BTW, this takes place a whole seventeen years after Max. Just letting you know. Okay, now that's out of the way, let's go!**

**3****rd**** Person POV**

It was a truly miserable day in late October when a cab drew up outside "Greenside orphanage for Girls" in New York City, and a girl got out and paid the driver.

She was about sixteen years old, but tall for her age, at least five foot ten. She was extremely pale, and had equally pale blonde hair that just touched her shoulders. Her name was Melodie. Her green eyes narrowed as she looked up at the tall building, a small line appearing on her forehead. She walked up the stone steps and pulled open the heavy brass door, before walking inside.

Inside the building, the walls and ceiling was grey. Staff milled around aimlessly, holding clipboards or medicine bottles, shouting every so often at one of the four year old girls who were drawing on the walls. Melodie ignored them all, walking to a sign on the west wall that had a large board over it. The banner spread across it said, "Greenside in the News." There was only one story under it.

'_**Baby Girl found on doorstep**_

_**A member of Greenside Orphanage for Girls support staff is recovering after opening the front door to find a young baby on the front steps of the entrance to the main building. **_

"_**All I remember is hearing crying from outside," Miss. Leanne Brey, twenty-four, said speaking to reporters yesterday, "And I wondered if maybe it was a street cat yowling or something. So I opened the door holding the broom, getting ready to shoo it away, and I find a little baby lying on the steps, wrapped in only one little blanket, simply screaming her head off! It was absolutely pouring with rain, so I brought her inside, and gave her some milk and some proper clothes. She must have been only a few days old. There was no one about at the time, and she was all wet. She must have been there for a good couple hours."**_

_**The mother of the baby is asked to come forward to collect the baby, who the Staff at the orphanage have temporarily named Melodie…'**_

"And yes, you need to take some medicine up to Elinor Shanks, she's still vomiting everywhere. And someone for goodness' sakes tell Gemma to stop drawing on the walls…"

Melodie turned around. There was a woman of about fifty walking towards her, yelling instructions over her shoulder. Then she turned to Melodie and said, "Hello…Miss. Can I help you with any thing?"

"Yes." Melodie didn't like the way the woman was staring at her. Like she recognized her. That was the last thing she wanted… Melodie pointed to the newspaper cutting on the board. "I was wondering if, if the girl still lives here." Of course, she already knew the answer to that.

"Nah." The woman said, absently shooing a kid away from her, "Adopted about five, six, years ago. She must be about sixteen now."

"And…And did anyone ever come for her? After she was adopted?"

"Nope. The mother obviously didn't want her. Probably a druggie… Probably had a one-night stand with a complete stranger and dumped the kid on the nearest doorstep. She was a strange little kid, she was… Adopted by a Mother Theresa type. Not a lot of the older children get adopted in here."

"Okay, thank you." Melodie said, trying to walk away. But the woman grabbed her arm and stared at her.

"Looked at lot like you, she did." She said, "She had your colour hair. And exactly your eyes."

"Yes, well, I really need to be going." Melodie said, pulling her hand away and walking as fast as she could without running to the heavy glass door, before pulling it open and almost running down the steps. She looked up, shielding her hand with her eyes, and saw a bird, like a hawk, flying in circles, probably searching for prey.

_Flying._

Melodie gulped. She would be in serious trouble. But then she clenched her jaw and scowled. She had just had a major disappointment. Why shouldn't she? She walked a couple streets then went down a long, narrow alley. Making sure there was no one around to see her, she ran as fast as she could towards the wall at the end of the alley. Then, when she was about fifty metres away from actually hitting it, she leapt as high as she could into the air, snapped out her thirteen foot grey wings, and flew up, up, away from the city.

**Oh, and by the way, I made up the name of the orphanage. I tried googling orphanages in New York, but I couldn't find anything. So yeah, I could claim for that. But I couldn't be bothered. **

**And yeah, the rest of the story will be in Melodie's POV. I just 3****rd**** person POV would be good for the first chapter.**

**Next chapter coming soon! And in the meantime, R&R!**

**IwriteUread**


	2. Chapter 2

**Um, hey! **

**I'm back for another chapter! I got, well, at least…****None**** reviews for the last chapter. But that's alright. Whatever. Don't care if no one reads my stories. I don't care if I do 26737328834249835 chapters and get about 2 reviews for the whole story. ****I don't abandon my stories, no matter how wick they are****. So let's go!**

**Melodie POV**

Another day, another disappointment.

_I don't even know why I'm surprised, _I thought bitterly, scowling at the ground, absently moving my wings up and down as I flew away from New York, _When has anything ever gone right for me?_

Basically my life goes like: Abandoned on a doorstep after I was born, grew up in truly crap orphanage for the first ten years of my life, adopted (okay, maybe that bit wasn't so bad) and made to live out in the country which is miles away from_ any _civilisation, go to a normal (crap) school. Add the wings and the really terrifying nightmares I get every other week, and you've basically got a recipe for suicide. Judith isn't so bad, I guess. I mean, she is really fussy about somethings, like cleaning my room, doing my homework, actually _going_ to school. Speaking of…

I looked at my watch and swore quietly, even though I was above were anyone could hear me. _School ended four hours ago! _Now it was definitely obvious that I skipped, if the school hadn't already rang Judith. _Oh God, I was for it now! Crap, crap, crap!_

I closed my eyes, putting my head in my hands and trying not to swear again. Then I looked up, and shot forward like a bullet out of a gun. I was going at, at least two hundred and eighty miles per hour. Normally I enjoyed this kind of thing, flying super-fast through the sky, but right now I needed to MOVE!

_Crap, crap, crap, she's gonna kill me!_

***

After about half an hour, I landed silently in the back field. Shaking my legs and folding my wings in, I started walking out of the field and towards the big white farmhouse. The light was on in Judith's room. Maybe I could sneak in, and pretend I've been in my room the whole time? I silently opened the kitchen window and climbed inside, narrowly missing some pots lying beside the sink. I turned around to close the window again…

"Back are we?" a voice behind me said.

I groaned. I knew that voice.

Sighing, I turned around.

"Um, hi Judith." I said, lamely, feeling my cheeks go red.

"I got a call from the school." She snapped, "Sit down." Even though she's shorter than me by about half a foot, she still seemed oddly terrifying as her ice-blue eyes raked over my guilty face. I sat down on the sofa, and it sagged under me.

"Explain yourself." She snarled, standing over me, her arms folded.

"I, well, I…" I stammered, trying desperately to think of an excuse.

"You had a biology test today, as you very well knew." She snarled, and let me tell you, if looks could kill, I'd be dead five times over.

"I…I…"

"Where have you been?" she asked, her arms still folded.

"I've been…"

"Yes?"

"In New York." I said. I wasn't going to tell her why, though.

"Because…"

"Because I…didn't want to do the test." Yes, I know, a very lame excuse. But I'm not good at lying.

Judith raked her hands through her greying hair, "Melodie, this isn't about what you do or don't want to do. It's about what you _have _to do. I want you to grow up like a normal person, and I want you to get a good job and a future. And that requires you going to school. This is the third time you've skipped this term."

I hung my head, praying. _Please don't say what you said the first two times…_

"I want you to go to Gabriella's house, and collect all the homework you got and the notes that need copied up." She said, sighing.

_Of frickin' course._

"It should only take you about twenty minutes to _walk _there." She said, turning her back and putting a pot on the oven, "And twenty minutes back. You can give Gabriella her notes tomorrow."

"Fine." I snapped, standing up, "I should be about three hours, because Gabriella won't let me take the notes until she's talked about all her stupid _A grades._" Why does the only building within twenty miles of our house have to be _her house? _

"I wish you got the marks that she got." Judith snapped back, cutting carrots to put in the pot.

"Whatever." I said, grabbing my coat and running out the door before she started yelling at me. She_ hates_ when I say that.

***

I rang the doorbell outside Gabriella's big farmhouse that was almost identical to ours, and her little sister, Jade, opened the door.

"Yes?" she said, opening the door wider and raising her eyebrows.

_Dear God, _I thought, _she is one mouthy twelve year old._

"Is Gabriella here? I need to copy up some notes." I said, resisting the urge to mime puking.

"Yeah, I'll get her." Jade said, then screamed over her shoulder, "GABBY!"

"Who is it?" Jade's twin sister, Dolphin said, peeking her head around the living room door. Yep, you read it right: _Dolphin. _Poor kid.

Jade motioned for me to come in, then closed the door. Leaving me standing there, she turned around and walked to the living room. As the door was closing, I heard her say, "It's that Melodie girl; you know, the one who keeps skipping school?"

"I'M COMING!" Someone from the top of the stairs yelled, then Gabriella walked down, wearing stilettos and the shortest skirt known to humanity. She had plied on black eye shadow that clashed really badly with her dark blue eyes and the clip in her mouse brown, chin length hair.

"Oh, it's you." She said in disgust, seeing me standing in the hall, "I thought you were Lara and Stella."

"Sorry to disappoint." I snapped, scowling. Then her mum came out of the kitchen, and looked at me. I gave a false grin and she went into the living room.

_Remember, it takes forty eight muscles to frown and only 28 to smile. _The nicer side of conscience said.

_Yeah, but it only takes four muscles to reach up and smack someone in the face. _The not so nice part said.

We walked up the stairs and into Gabriella's room.

"Okay, let's make this fast." She said, pulling books out of the bag, "My friends are coming soon and I don't want to mess up the shopping trip 'cause I'm helping some idiot with her homework."

That's nice talk, isn't it?

"Oh don't worry, I won't be here long." I snapped, catching each book that she literally threw at me.

"I'm going to get a new dress for my date with Tony. You know, my _boyfriend._" She said.

_Don't kill her, don't kill her…_

"Mum and Dad gave me some money for getting an A+ in my maths test. What was it you got? A D?"

"It was a C+, you retard." I snarled, before running out and slamming the door in her face.

***

"I rang Mr. Spence." Judith said as I struggled through history homework later on that night.

"Oh yeah? What did ol' Baldy have to say?"

"Don't call him that, he's your teacher."

"I don't care if he's the Queen of Peru, it doesn't make him any less bald."

"Melodie…" Judith started, narrowing her eyes. I sighed.

"Just tell me what he said."

"He said you're getting an F on the test, but you still have to take it."

"Whatever." I muttered, bending lower over my timeline.

"Don't you 'Whatever' me."

"I'll 'Whatever' who ever I want."

"I'll ground you if you don't watch yourself."

"Watch me not care."

"You are a cheeky little cow."

I slammed my book shut and stood up.

"You're not my mother." I snarled. She blinked, and for a second I felt awful.

"I'm as good as." Judith said, her eyes shining.

"Whatever."

"I thought I told you not to say that to me."

"WHATEVER!" I yelled, running past her and stomping up the stairs. I ran into my room and slammed the door, then threw myself at the bed, burrowing right under the covers.

***

Hours later, I heard a light turn off. I was starving. I hadn't eaten since dinner, at about seven o'clock. And I have to eat a lot. But I still manage to stay thin. Must be all the flying I do.

There was a knock on the door, and then it opened slightly.

"Mel?" Judith said, walking in wearing her dressing gown and slippers, "Melodie? You awake?"

I stayed silent.

I heard her shift something on the bedside table, then she muttered, "That's the phone and the takeaway pizza menu. There's sixty dollars there as well. Tidy up when you've finished." She left the room, and I heard the upstairs light switch off.

Twenty minutes later, I got up and ordered a large Hawaiian pizza with extra pineapple.

Judith knows me too well.

**R&R Please!**

**IwriteUread**


	3. Chapter 3

**Heyyy, readers! I got favourited last chapter! The green button at the bottom of the page is lonely! It wants some company! Sorry it took me longer to complete this chapter. My mum and dad are only letting me have ONE HOUR a night on the computer because apparently I need to "concentrate on my school work" (Bite Me) so yeah, That's all I've got to say.**  
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_**I ran through the streets, my breath coming in fog in front of me, breathing in little huffs. I could hear them behind me, their growling, and when I looked over my shoulder, I saw their red eyes glowing in the dark. I looked down at the baby in the blanket I was carrying. She looked back up and me, the blonde wisps of hair lying flat on her tiny forehead. She whimpered and I could feel her starting to cry.  
"Shhh, Shhh." I said breathlessly, running down another alley way. I could hold them off for much longer. I had to find somewhere to hide us, or at least her. He said he was going to come, but he didn't know how long he would be. And the wolves were drawing in. **_

_**I knew the way to get rid of them was to confuse them. So ran down street after street, alley after alley. The wind blew my hood down, revealing a long plait of dark brown hair. I continued running, moving faster than I had ever moved before. I couldn't hear the growling. I leant against the wall of a tall grey building, trying to catch my breath while I had the chance. I wasn't so naïve as to think they were truly gone. They would re-group, then use their heat sensors to find me. No other person would walk around New York at this time of night. **_

_**Hide the baby, I thought, swallowing hard, he'll come for me, but she can't…can't grow up like this.**_

_**Still breathing heavily, I came out of the side-street, looking at the ugly stone building I had been leaning against. It had writing along the top of the door.**_

'_**Greenside Orphanage for Girls.'**_

_**An orphanage.**_

_**I hurried up the stone steps, and bent down at the front of the door. Setting the baby on the ground, tears started rolling down my cheeks.**_

"_**Goodbye, my baby." I whispered, wrapping the blanket more firmly around her. I was preying she wouldn't start crying while those things were around. But they were practically deaf anyway. **_

_**Trying desperately hard not to sob, I retreated down the front steps, shivering inside my coat. I looked up to see the tiny bundle lying still at the top of the stairs, then ran into the alleyway, leaving her behind. **_

***

I shrieked as I woke up, then immediately dissolved into huge, raking sobs. It was that dream. That Dream. I don't even know what's so bad about it. I just know that it terrifies the hell out of me. I sobbed into my bed sheets, sweat pouring down my face. I was scared I was going to make myself sick.

"Melodie? Melodie, what's wrong?" Judith. She sat beside me on the bed and said, "Was it that dream?"

I nodded through my sobs.

Judith pulled me into her and I cried into her soft shoulder. When my sobs had slowed down to shuttering breaths she said to me, "Do you want some hot chocolate?"

"Y-Yeah." I said, nodding and managing a weak grin.

As we sat drinking hot chocolate, Judith said to me, "I think we better take you to a psychologist. You've been having those dreams for years now."

Dream. Always the same dream.

"How do you feel about that, Melodie?"

_Like I want to throw this hot chocolate over your head for even suggesting it. _

I shrugged. "Donno."

"Well, maybe, then. I heard they're very expensive, but we need to sort this out."

I stayed silent.

_Maybe she'll let me stay off school. _I thought.

Judith looked at me.

"You realise you still have to go to school tomorrow?"

_Crap._

"Yeah I was expecting that." I said, seething silently.

***

I woke up the next morning feeling like I'd got hit by a truck. After a hurried breakfast of _nothing, _I threw on a pink dress and put my hair into two plaits either side of my head, grabbed my backpack and left.

I knew there was no chance of me skiving today. Judith would ring the school and check I was there, if they didn't ring her first.

_This whole thing is a major pain in the ass, _I thought as I climbed on the first of my two buses and took a seat near the back. There were only about three other people on the bus. Two old people huddled together near the front, and a boy with brown hair and ice blue eyes, staring right at me. Gabriella's mum gave her a _lift _to school.

_Ugh, this sucks, _I thought, _I could fly to school in about eight minutes. Instead I have to waste about half an hour jumped from one bus to the next._

The boy gave a start and stared right at me. I looked back at him like, 'What you staring at?' He stood up and started walking towards me. I looked out the window and tried to ignore him, like, 'I'm not interested'. He sat down opposite and said, "Hey."

"Hey." _Go away, go away, go away. _

A look of confusion and hurt crossed the boy's face, like he knew what I was thinking. He recovered quickly and said, "I'm Casper."

_I don't care. _"Good to know."

"I know what you are."

Okay, this was getting slightly odd.

I looked at him and glared, which would have made most people back away. He stayed firmly in his seat.

I started snarling at him. "What am I, then? American, Blonde, a girl?" _Take your pick so I can whack you._

"You're a Bird-Kid."

Okay, that I was not expecting.

***

_Okay, act dumb. _

I gave a laugh that sounded like a moan. "What are you like? Bird-Kid?"

"There's no point trying to act dumb with me. I always know." Just then the bus stopped, and I leapt out of the seat.

"Well, I can't say this hasn't been interesting, but I have to go." I pushed past him and climbed down the steps. He followed me.

"Look, leave me alone." I snarled. Just then he grabbed my arm and swung me into a side street, ignoring my swearing.

"Listen, just listen." He snarled just as fiercely as me, "You're not the only bird-kid in the world."

"Oh yeah? Prove it." And yes, that was as good as admitting I was a bird-kid. Poor planning on my part.

"I'm one as well, Melodie." He said, looking straight into my eyes.

What. The. Bloody. Hell? How'd this guy know my name? I mean, it's not exactly a common name.

"How'd you know my name?" I asked warily, ready to slap him after he gave me whatever the heck the answer was.

He raised his eyebrows at me. "You're not too smart, are you?"

"Just because I got a D in my last science test doesn't mean I'm thick."

"You didn't get a D." The boy said quietly, "You got an F because you didn't turn up for the test. I can read minds, duh."

**Review, pretty please with money on top?**

**IwriteUread**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, new rule. If you're going to favourite, please, please try to review as well. I'm slipping into depression. I know that some people sometimes have a case of 'I can't be bothered reviewing', believe me; I've had it as well. But can you please review when you can be bothered? Please? Hope that wasn't too rude. (It probably was, so sorry). **

Okay, this guy was really starting to freak me out. Who was he? Aladdin or something?

"Hey, you're funny." He said sarcastically to me, "Now will you please think something that _doesn't _make me want to kill you?"

_Holy Bloody Crap._

I breathed deeply and tried to concentrate. "Well, I can't say this hasn't been interesting, but I've really got to go." I edged around him and out of the side street. The road was completely empty. I walked down the empty pavement with Casper following me, hissing under his breath.

"Do you have any idea how much danger both of us could be in right now? We're being hunted, and unless you wise up and get away from here, they're going to find us sooner."

I ignored him right up until he grabbed my wrist. I whipped around and snarled at him.

"Listen, you get the Hell off me right now, or I swear to God…"

And that's when all Hell broke loose.

***

Huge metal…_things, _came running out of alley ways and side streets. They had glowing red eyes and what looked like _guns _attached to their arms. Casper said a long stream of swear words, turned to me and said, "I _told _you. Didn't I tell you?" before snapping out a _huge _pair of black wings. They must have been at least fifteen feet across. He ran across to one of things and punched it straight in the side of the head. Its ear came off. It turned to him growling, before kicking him hard in the stomach. His breath left him and he doubled over.

I suddenly realised I was under attack myself. One of the things was running towards me, and before I could react, it smashed its metal arm straight into my shoulder. I shrieked and clutched at my shoulder while trying to dodge the things continued kicks and punches.

"Ignore the pain, Melodie!" Casper yelled over from he was punching one of the things back, "Concentrate on getting rid of it!"

I gritted my teeth and straightened up, before chopping the thing right beside its neck with my good arm. Its arm came off, revealing a mesh of wires and sparks. _Robots!_

***

There was only about twenty of them, and it didn't take long to get rid of the last of them. Casper walked over to me, an unbearably smug look on his bruised face.

"Believe me now?"

"Just about." I said, scowling at his stupid little smirk.

He rolled his eyes, "Let me see your shoulder."

I took my hand away to show him my bruised shoulder. He raised his eyebrows.

"You're a right wimp. It isn't even dislocated." He held out his hand to help me up, and I took it while swearing angrily at him.

"Well, what now?" I asked, looking around at the road littered with bits of metal.

"People will be coming along soon. We're lucky that no one saw us." Casper said, biting his lip, "How about we meet here in a few hours? I'll take you to my temporary home."

"Your 'temporary' home? You on the run? Are you a Hobo or something?" I asked, grinning.

He grinned back at me. "Exactly, Melodie. See you in a few hours."

***

"JUDITH! JUDITH!" I yelled half an hour later, running into the house. I had flown, to save time.

Judith screamed her head off and turned around.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! YOU'RE MEANT TO BE IN SCHOOL, YOU IDIOT!"

"That's not important. Listen…"

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN IT'S NOT IMPORTANT!? YOU HAVE A TEST..."

"Judith! Be quiet! Listen, I met this guy, and he's like me! He has massive, massive wings and he can read minds and he knew my name and everything and…"

Judith simply stood stiffly while I rambled on.

"And then all these robot things came out of everywhere, and we beat them up, and I'm going to meet him again in a few hours and…"

Judith held up her hand to stop me. Then she turned around so her back was facing me.

"We'll ring the school, say you had an emergency dentist appointment or something…" She said quietly.

"What do you mean? I have to go see Casper!" I said, my throat dry.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Melodie, you're sixteen years old. You have to go to school. I want you to get a good job and have a future. You can't go running off with any one of the streets, no matter if they're like you."

I felt my blood boiling. _How could she do that to me?_

"BUT I WON'T HAVE A FUTURE, JUDITH! Don't you realise how hard it would be for someone like me to _settle down _and _have a family?! _I have thirteen foot _wings _attached to my freaking _back! _But if I go see Casper, he might know other people like me. Other _freaks._"

"I don't think you're a freak." Judith said, tears in her eyes.

"Oh, please, Judith. I see the way you flinch when I stretch out my wings. See the way you're eyes narrow when I stand next to other girls my age. To you, I'm the biggest freak you've ever met. Well you can take my future and stuff it, because I'm sick of you!" We were both crying now.

"Melodie, please…" Judith said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"No, Judith, I've had enough." I said, and then I walked into the back garden and flew away.

***

"You're early." Casper said two hours later when he walked around the corner and found me sitting moodily on a wall.

I sighed. "Don't remind me."

"Bad day, huh?" Casper asked, sitting beside me.

I rubbed my temples. "Kinda."

"C'mon, we'll go to my place." He said standing up and walking towards an alley. I followed him.

***

"_This _is your place?" I said forty minutes later, staring up at the tall oak tree.

"Kinda," he said, "I don't seem to have enough in my piggy bank to by that mansion yet. C'mon." Then he spread his wings and flew up into the higher branches. I followed him.

He sat on a thick branch and put his back against the trunk. "So, what now?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Well, basically, my plan doesn't go beyond 'Find another Bird-Kid'."

"Don't you have a family to go to?" I asked.

Casper snorted. "The only member of my family I've ever met is my sister, and I haven't seen her in almost two years."

"Oh." I said, getting more curious by the second. There was an awkward silence, then I said, "How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

Huh. A year younger than me.

"Why have you-..." I started, but a rustle made me stop. "What was that?" I hissed.

"Maybe a bird…"

"Not in the day…"

_Whoosh!_

That was the sound of a bullet flying so close to me I nearly got my _whole ear _blown off.

Casper said a four lettered word that I'm not going to write before leaping up from the branch and yelling "THEY'VE FOUND US! GET OUT OF HERE!"

We both leaped off the branch and flew away from there as fast as we could.

"Where are we going to go?" Casper said, biting his lip as we flew over trees. "They keep finding us."

I took a deep breath. I had a place. It was also the last place I wanted to go.

"I've got a place." I muttered.

"Well, spill!" Casper said.

"My house."

* * *

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	5. Chapter 5

**I'd like to say a BIG thank you to Magaferd for being the first person to review! Please, Please, PLEASE review this chapter. I just don't get why people aren't reviewing and it's making me sad :( That is all.**

* * *

"So you live in this big farmhouse in the middle of nowhere with showers and food and fridges and beds and…" I sighed. Casper had been going on like this ever since I told him I had a place with central heating. Like, did he grow up in a barn?

I was secretly seething that we had to go back to the house. I was kinda _planning _not to go back to see Judith, because I thought Casper had a house that had coffee, or central heating, or, hey, _walls._

Reality just comes and slaps you in the face sometimes, doesn't it?

"Are you sure your mum…"

"Judith."  
"Are you sure Judith won't mind me staying?"

"Yes." _No. _

"Do you think she would mind if I had some food? I haven't eaten in a while."

"No." _She'll probably run at you with the butcher knife._

But she didn't run at him with the knife, because when we got there the house was empty.

I banged on the door. "Yo, Judith! It's me! Melodie! Open up!" The door stayed shut.

At first I thought that she had taken a super huff with me, and I was going to have to sleep on the doorstep. _Already happened once. _But then I remembered that Judith was a _major _worrier. She'd be so glad to have me back safe that she would open the door so fast she would break it. I hammered on the door again.

"Judith! Are you there? Open up, for God's sake!" The door stayed closed.

I flopped down on the doorstep.

"Brilliant. Fan-Bloody-Tastic."

Casper pulled on the handle. Nothing.

"Maybe she left the back door open?" He suggested.

I shrugged. "Worth a shot."

W went round the back, which was dark and eerily quiet. I pushed down on the handle of the back door and, hey presto, it swung open.

"Ho Hum." I muttered.

We stepped into the dark kitchen. The house was still. No TV blaring, no music, no nothing.

"Judith?" I called. No answer. Casper turned the light on, and my eyes immediately found the slip of paper sitting on the table. I dived at it.

_Melodie,_

_If you're reading this, please, please, please don't leave the house. I've gone out looking for you and should be back quite late. I'm so sorry, sweetie. I love you. Please don't leave. See you soon,_

_Judith._

The paper was blotchy and the writing was going up and down, as if her hand had been shaking when she wrote it. I swallowed as I read it, then looked at Casper. Was it me, or did he look miserable? '_I haven't seen my sister in two years…' _Was I being selfish?

"Well," I said, going into the sitting room and throwing myself onto our couch, "Guess we wait for Judith, then find out what to do from there."

Casper went to sit on the armchair beside the window. He sighed and rubbed his temples. He looked up and out the window, then swore.

"Will you _please _quit it with the swearing?" I asked, walking over to him, my hands on my hips. Then I looked out the window and said the same swearword as Casper.

***

He house was surrounded by what must have been hundreds of those robot things. All I could see was rows and rows of metal heads, all of which had guns pointing directly at the house.

There was a pause, then to break the silence, I said, "Well, crap."

Casper simply nodded.

"Check the back." He said hoarsely, his face drained of colour.

I leapt off the couch and ran to the back door, "No! They're round here as well! Everywhere!"

"Melodie! They've got someone! A woman…"

I sucked in a breath so fast it hurt.

"W-what does she look like?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"She has brown hair, it's going grey. She's quite short. I think her eyes are blue…"

I nearly bowled him over as I sprinted for the window.

"JUDITH!" I yelled. I could see them yelling something at her, but she shook her head and yelled back. Suddenly they injected something into her and she screamed. I ran into the hall. I grabbed the handle of the front door, ready to pull it off its hinges. Until Casper grabbed me from behind.

"Melodie, you can't go out there! It's what they want!"

"GET OFF ME!" I screamed, kicking him while swearing angrily. From outside, I could still hear Judith screaming.

"Melodie," Casper's voice suddenly went gentle, and he released my arms, which he had pinned behind my back, "Melodie, they gave her a lethal injection. We can't do anything."

"YES WE CAN!" I yelled, refusing to believe it, even though I knew it was true. I grabbed the door again. Casper grabbed my wrist. I turned around so fast that my plait hit me in the face.

"GET OFF ME, YOU THICK BASTARD! OR I SWEAR TO GOD…" Then my evolved ears heard a thump from outside.

I sprinted to the window, followed by Casper. I pulled the curtain back,

just in time to see the robots forcing something into a body bag.

I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach. _No, no, don't leave me alone again…_

"JUDITH!" I screamed, tears running down my cheeks, "JUDITH! NO, NO, NO!" I punched the glass, threatening to break it. Then Casper put his arms around me, and I sobbed into his shoulder.

* * *

**Yes, I know. I killed Judith. Yes, I know. I am evil. Sorry.**

**So Anywho, read and review!**

**IwriteUread**


	6. Chapter 6

**Heyyyy people!!!!! I'm happy because I actually got TWO reviews for the last chapter!!!!! TWO!**

**I'm easily pleased… TOWTWOTWOTWO…That's enough coffee for a while, I think…**

* * *

For the next two days I just felt numbness. Like my brain had disappeared and I was in a trace or something. After Judith died, Casper and I had watched through the window as more and more of the robots arrived. They surrounded the house all day and night, showing no signs of leaving. And we were running out of food. That was their plan. They were going to starve us out.

I woke up the third day of Judith's death, feeling, for the second time in a week, like I'd got hit by a truck. I groaned as I pushed myself up out of bed. I could hear noises from downstairs, so I guessed Casper was already awake. I looked out of the window with naïve hope. Maybe… Nope, they were still there. There seemed to be more of them than there were last night. _Joy…_

I walked slowly downstairs, my head pounding. It felt weird to be in the house without Judith, like all its furniture was missing. I'd never really realised just how much I depended on her before.

I crawled into the kitchen. 'Hi.'

'Hi.' Casper said over from the cupboard. He took out a cereal box and shook it, before biting his lip. I watched as he poured the last of the box into the bowl. It didn't even fill a quarter of it.

'Is that all we've got?' I said, rubbing my temples.

Casper said, 'I think we have some potato chips left. And some out of date yogurt.'

'Casper, we can't survive on rotting food.' I said, biting my thumb nail, 'We need proper food. Like bread and stuff.'

I grabbed two spoons out of a drawer and we walked into the sitting room. We took in turns taking a spoonful of the last remaining fruit loops. I looked thoughtfully out of the window, then decided to ask a question that had been bugging me for a few days, 'Casper, where did you grow up?'

***

His reaction was instant. His eyes closed and his face went pale. He didn't answer.

'Casper? Casper?' I said, gently shaking his shoulder. He didn't move. I sighed and stood up, but when I was about to leave the room, I heard him barely mutter, 'A lab.'

'A lab?' I asked, raising my eyebrows.

'Yes. Now what about you?' He said, his eyes wide and curious.

'An orphanage in New York.'

'What was it like?' He seemed genuinely interested. Maybe if I told him, he would tell me more about his 'Lab'.

'It was crap.' I said, remembering it. Remembering how the staff used to think I was stupid. Remembering the other girls…

'My mum dumped me on the doorstep a couple of days after I was born. Never came back for me. I grew up there until I turned ten. Then Judith adopted me.' I swallowed.

There was a pause, then Casper said, 'It must've been hard.'

'It was. I have weird nightmares sometimes. I scream when I wake up. Sarah Cunningham, the girl I shared my room with, used to call me a Freak. They all did.' I gave a tiny smirk, 'They had no idea.'

'We're not Freaks' Casper said forcefully, 'We're people, just like anyone else.' I nodded. He was right.

I looked out the window, watching the robots. They were just sitting there, watching. Waiting.

It was time to face up to the truth. I took a deep breath, 'Casper, we need to leave.' I said, gesturing out the window.

There was silence in witch Casper simply stared out the window. Then he said, 'You're right. Tonight.'

'Tonight?' I said, raising my eyebrows. 'Isn't that a bit soon?'

Casper looked up at me and gave me a weak grin. 'No time like the present.'

***

'Okay, so we open the window and leap out, then fly outta here like a bat out of Hell.' Casper said late that night, or it could've been early morning. Does it matter either way?

'Yep.' I said, my stomach clenching. I just wanted to leave here and never come back.

'Got every thing you want to keep?'

'Uh-huh. Casper? A question.'

'What?'

'Where are we gonna _go?_' I asked, 'I mean, we thought your… tree would be safe, and they found us there. We thought here would be safe, and they found us here.'

'We need to keep on the move.' Casper said, 'Go somewhere different everyday. They won't have time to find us if we keep moving.'

'Right.' I said, even though it was far from it. I pulled my backpack on and stood in front of the window.

'Three…Two…ONE!' Casper yelled, then he pulled it open and we both jumped out, our wings overlapping as we unfolded them

The robots leapt into action, positioning their guns and shooting at us. We dodged quickly through the bullets, flying up towards the clouds. I dimly heard one yell 'Subject eleven!' over the noise of the guns, but I continued flying, breathing hard. I heard a huge explosion, and looked over my shoulder in time to see the place where I grew up for the past six years of my life erupt in flames.

'Melodie.' Casper said, but I stopped him.

'Just fly. Anywhere.'

* * *

**I'll be honest. I'm not proud of this chapter. It feels really…ramblely or something (don't even know if that's a word). But anyhow, read & review :)**

**IwriteUread**


	7. Chapter 7

_Dear God, I'm starving. _I thought. It was early morning, and the sun was coming up over the horizon, hurting my eyes.

_Great, _I thought sourly, scowling at the ground so far below me, _Now, as well as having no family, no home, and no food, I'm going to go blind as well. _You may have noticed that flying long distances at night turns me into a grumpy witch. You're just going to have to put up with it.

Though he was trying not to show it, I could tell Casper was just as tired and hungry and pissed off as I was.

I decided this couldn't go on, or I'd end up killing the next person who talked to me.

'Casper!' I called, 'We need food.'

'But…' He started, squinting at me through the light from the sun.

'I know they could be following us. Most likely they are. But we can't make it easier for them by dropping out of the sky of exhaustion! We need to eat!'

He sighed, then to my surprise, called 'You're right! Let's go!' Without waiting for an answer he dived downwards.

_What is his problem? _I thought, following him. I was going to get it out of him, one way or another…

***

As we walked into the store, I realised something that could have counted as _kinda _important.

'Casper,' I muttered, 'We don't have any money.'

Casper raised his eyebrows coolly. 'I know.'

'Well, doesn't that make this kinda…' Casper held up his hand to stop me.

'Melodie, how many people are in the shop?' He asked.

This was such a pointless question that I stopped walking and just stood there staring at him.

'Casper, what the He-' I started, but he interrupted me.

'How many?' He asked again.

'Just us and the checkout girl, but…'

'When I motion for you to go, grab the stuff off the counter and run like Hell.' He said calmly.

'What'd…' I said, confused, but Casper grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the counter. The checkout girl looked angrily at us, the kinda look that said, "How dare come in here and buy stuff when I'm trying not to work".

'Hey.' Casper said, picking up a chocolate bar and setting it in front of her. She scowled at him before scanning it.

'That'll be 50 cent.' She said in a bored voice.

Casper motioned to me, before setting more stuff on the counter.

'Well, the thing is,' He said, staring right at the checkout girl while setting more and more food on the counter, 'We don't actually have any money.'

The girl's eyes were glazed and she had a confused expression on her face. If I wasn't so freaked out, I would have laughed.

'You don't have any money.' She repeated in a droning voice.

'You could just give us all the stuff for free.' Casper said, scooping stuff into my hands and his own pockets, all the while not taking his eyes off the girl.

'You could just give you all the stuff for free.' She repeated.

'And, like, just forget we were even here.'

'I could forget you're here.' This was starting to really freak me out.

'That would be great.' He said, grinning at her, before shoving me hard toward the door. Then we got out of there.

***

When we were high up in the air again, I ripped up a chocolate bar before saying to Casper, 'That was just plain freaky.'

He grinned and winked. 'Told you mind control was better than warp drive.'

'So that's what you were doing?' I asked, interested but terrified at the same time, 'Controlling her mind?'

'Yep.' He said, throwing his wrapper away.

There was silence while I digested this new and weird development in our relationship. The fact that he could control my mind whenever he wanted. Not designed to make a girl feel comfortable…

'Melodie? You with me?'

'Huh?' I realised Casper must have been saying my name for about two minutes now, while I was all wrapped up in my own personal drama. Or horror…

'Wanna find a cave?' He said, motioning to the mountains we were passing.

I shrugged. 'Might as well.'

We angled downwards, and flew into a large cave.

***

'What is your _problem?_' I snarled at Casper.

He looked at me, eyebrows raised. 'What are you on about?'

'I'm on about the fact that this is the first time you've spoken to me in almost _eight hours!_'

He blinked once, then scowled and snarled at me, 'It's none of your business.'

'Yes, it is!' I yelled, clenching my fists, 'We're in this together! This isn't _school, _where if you have a fight with someone you can go and make a new friend straight away! If we leave each other, we're both alone, and it'll be bad!' How's that last part for vocabulary?

He folded his arms and bit his lip, as if he was trying not to reach out a smack me. He muttered something that sounded bizarrely like, 'Never did me any harm.'

'What?' I asked, blinking.

'I've been on my own for almost three years now. Never did me any harm.' He said, shrugging. He didn't look like he wanted to kill me anymore, so I sat beside him on the cliff ledge, our legs dropping over the edge.

'What do you mean?' I said, then before he could answer, I took a deep breath and said, 'Casper. Tell me about the lab.' For a few seconds I saw something that looked like fear flash in his eyes, then it was gone.

'It's not important.' He muttered, his eyes on our dangling feet.

'But it is.' I argued, starting to get angry again.

No answer.

'Casper, I told you about my past, now you tell me about yours.'

There was a pause.

'Casper?' I asked, nudging him gently.

'My past is a lot more complex than yours.'

'Try me.'

'Fine.'

* * *

**That's the end of this chapter! You're gonna have to wait for the next chapter to find out what happens ;) R&R**

**IwriteUread**


	8. Chapter 8

'Where do you want me to start?' He said, looking over the side of the cliff.

'The beginning. From day one.' I said.

Casper grinned. 'Well, on day one, I was born…'

I gave him a Look.

'Don't try to be smart.' I said, 'It will be painful if you try.'

'Okay,' Casper said, closing his eyes, 'Well, I was taken from my family at a couple of months old. I was taken to a lab in the subway tunnels of New York, called the Institute.'

'Funny that,' I interrupted him, 'I grew up in an _orphanage _in New York.'

Now it was Casper who gave me The Look.

'Continue.' I said.

'In the lab, they did…experiments, on children. We're not the only mutants. There's tons of them, but not many make it past infancy.'

I swallowed.

'There was some that lived horribly for a short while. Like the human-cat hybrid. Or the human-monkey. And don't get me started on the human-fish.'

'Please stop.' I whispered.

Casper looked at me. 'What, my autobiography not exciting enough?'

'I asked for _your _story, Casper, not the story of other mutant failures.'

There was a pause, then Casper said, 'Okay, you're right.'

'So I grew up in the lab, nearly dying every other day. For seven years I was alone. Then one day they set another experiment in my room, the cage beside mine.'

'Your sister?' I whispered.

'Neither of us were sure,' Casper said, 'She was only four and she couldn't remember anything from life before the Institute. But she did look a Hell of a lot like me.' He grinned. 'We named each other. She named me Casper and I named her Tanya.'

'Tanya's a nice name,' I said, smiling slightly. He nodded.

'So we grew up in the lab together for six more years. She became closer to me. She was like my little sister, even if she wasn't.'

'But one day the whitecoats decided they'd had enough. Both of us had already attempted escape a bunch of times. I guess they saw it like, if they got rid of the older one, the younger one would be too scared to try anything.'

'What do you mean?' I asked. My nails were digging so hard into my own hands they were going to scar.

'The Erasers, they were the executioners before the robots came along, brought us into the school grounds, both of us, and told us to run, and they would play Food Fight.'

'I knew what they meant. It was basically Eraser slang for "Hey, we're gonna rip your throat out!"'

I gasped in horror.

'But Tanya was only ten. The little twerp didn't know what they meant. So I told her to hide, and I would come back for her. The Erasers had direct orders to find and kill me. But remember me saying Tanya looked a lot like me?'

I nodded, dreading what was coming next.

'Well, I was fighting the Erasers, when I heard a scream. I knew that scream.'

'No…' I muttered, and tears were smarting in my eyes.

'I flew around a corner, and there was an Eraser standing over Tanya, grinning at her. He didn't know it wasn't me. Our hair was the same length. And he grabbed Tanya by the throat, and…And…'

'No.' I said, 'No. He didn't…'

'Gone,' Casper said, not looking at me, 'Gone forever.' He sniffed.

That poor, poor kid.

'Oh, Casper,' I said, wrapping my arms around him, 'I'm so, so sorry.'

'It doesn't matter,' He said, giving me a small smile, 'It's over now. I escaped from the school exactly three days after she died. I escaped for Tanya.'

I wiped my eyes, breathing heavily, 'You're so brave.' I muttered, feeling embarrassed, 'I could never do everything you've done.'

Casper looked at me, sadness on his face, 'It still hurts sometimes.'

Suddenly I knew what I wanted to do, what I _needed _to do.

'Would this make it better?' I muttered, then I leaned over, and kissed him. Right on the mouth.

There was a pause were he seemed shocked, but then his strong arms came around me and he tilted his head so he could kiss me better.

I don't know how long it went on. Days? Months? Years? Finally we broke apart, both of us breathing heavily.

Casper looked at me, shock on his face. I bit my lip. I'd been so _stupid. _I hung my head. But he put his fingers under my chin and lifted my head. I looked into his eyes, wondering what I would see in there. Shock? Anger?

He smiled, gazing right back at me. 'Yes.'

I smiled.

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**R&R**

**IwriteUread**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey people! This is basically a filler chapter. I'm all jumpy and nervous at the minute because I have exams coming up after new year and this boy keeps giving me mixed signals about whether he wants to go out with me or not and my hair is crap and right this minute I'm shaking because I had to do an hour of German revision and I've still got to do maths revision and I haven't even had lunch yet and, and…. I'm going to stop now.**

* * *

Sunlight streamed through the cave opening, catching my eyes and making me wake up immediately. I groaned and sat up, rubbing my eyes and swearing.

_Stupid buggering sun. _I thought, _Why can't it go be bright and happy somewhere else?_

I looked around the cave and spotted Casper laying a couple of inches away from where I was sleeping. He was out for the count, his month hanging open slightly. I smiled at him. He had seemed a lot happier after last night. When…

Images of last night filled my head. Casper scowling at me. Casper crying. Casper moving towards me…

Suddenly I needed to fly. Get out of the cave and clear my head. I leapt up, ran towards the cliff edge, then skidded to a halt. I turned back into the cave and scribbled a note for Casper, telling him I went out flying and should be back soon. Then I started my original plan again (running towards cliff edge, flying away etc, etc.). Soon I was flying over a forest, running my fingers through my hair and wondering how much easier my life would be if it went the way I wanted it to go. Then I saw the lake, spread out below me. It was huge, and the water looked cleanish.

A huge _bath._

***

Oh God, finally I was _clean. _I'd been wearing the same pink dress for who knows how long and my hair was so greasy it was like one of those deep fat fryers. But finally I was clean. And that was what mattered.

So I basically just dive bombed straight into the lake the second I saw it, and I hadn't bet on the water being so _freezing. _Even so, I dunked my head under and came up again, almost crying with happiness.

Until I saw I robot on the bank, staring at me.

_Sh-Cra- Oh, screw it, Shit. _

It was standing there, staring right at me. I stopped in the lake, my heart freezing in a way that had nothing to do with the cold.

I looked around the trees that surrounded the lake. _Oh Bloody Hell, they're everywhere. _And they were. All staring at me.

_Well this is great. _

'Subject Eleven.' One said in a monotone.

_Subject Eleven? Okay, what does that even _mean?

'Subject Eleven.' It repeated.

_Okay Melodie, think. You can get out of this. You need to get back to Casper. _I thought, biting my lip.

'Subject Eleven.'

_Asshole._

I dived under the water and swam out to where it was deeper. Then I bunched up my muscles, surged upwards, and shot out of the water like an arrow. I flapped hard, desperately trying to fly away from the robots. They were shooting at me. The air was filled with bullets. It was too confusing. Where was I going? What was I doing? I shrieked as a bullet grazed my shoulder. I couldn't get out…

I folded my wings tight into my back and shot forward, covering my face with my arms. I suddenly realised I was out of shooting range,

and about to fly into a tree.

I swore loudly as I angled quickly upwards. I just barely felt my feet brush the bark. Then I was flying through the _extremely wet _clouds, away from lakes and robots and huge trees that someone should have planted in a more appropriate place for flying mutant bird kids.

***

I flew into the cave so fast I nearly flew into the wall. Casper was still sleeping.

'CASPER! CASPER! WAKE UP!' I yelled, grabbing his hand.

'Melodie what-WAHHH!' Casper yelled as I hauled him to his feet.

'Melodie, what's going on?!' Casper asked as watched me piling our stuff into a backpack, put out the fire and flap around in general.

'I was out flying and I went to the lake and they found me and they shot at me and we need to get out of here RIGHT NOW!' I yelled in a rush.

'Wait- They found you?' Casper asked, narrowing his eyes.

'YES! Now can we _go?!_' I screamed at him.

'Well, hurry up then!' Casper said before leaping off the side of the cliff.

'I was just about to- Hey, wait…!' I yelled, jumping off after him.

***

'How do they keep finding us?' I asked Casper after I had caught up with him and he had laughed himself stupid at my expression.

'No idea.' Casper asked, ripping open his ninth candy bar.

'Maybe we have tracer chips implanted in us, like Show Dogs.' I said sarcastically.

Casper pointed at me, 'A possibly.'

'I was _joking, _Caz.'

'Well I wasn't, _Mel.'_

'Don't call me Mel, _Caz._'

'Don't call me Caz, _Mel._'

And so it went on, until we had to stop in midair and lean on each other from laughing so hard.

'But seriously,' I said, wiping tears out of my eyes, 'Do you actually think we have tracer chips in us?'

'God knows,' Casper said, 'You probably don't, but I might.'

'Then how did they find me earlier on?' I asked.

'Good point.'

We flew in silence for a while, then Casper said, 'There is somewhere we could find out.'

'Where's that?' I asked, narrowing my eyes.

'The Institute.' He said.

There was a pause, then I said, 'You're not serious.'

'I am.'

'You're not.'

'I am.'

'You're not.'

'I am.'

'You're not.'

'Melodie.'

'Sorry.'

There was another pause, longer than the first one, then I said, 'So, guess we're headed for New York then.'

'I guess so.'

And we turned around, heading east.

* * *

**I don't even know if New York's in the east of America. Sorry if it isn't, but as you may or may not know, ****I am not from America. ****Anyway, I'm happy now because I got lunch. Beef super noodles have never tasted so good.**

**I won't be updating again until after New Year, so enjoy the New Year and see you in 2010!**

**IwriteUread**


	10. Chapter 10

'God in heaven, I bloody hate New York City.' I muttered, looking down at the many lights.

'Yeah, I know. Too many buildings, too many people. And of course, the Institute.' Casper said.

'And the orphanage.' I added.

'And the orphanage.' Casper agreed, pulling a face.

'Do we really have to?' I pleaded, flying closer to him.

'If you want to find out if we have tracer chips implanted in us, yes.' Casper said.

'Maybe I don't want to find out.' I said stubbornly. Casper raised his eyebrows at me. I scowled. 'Fine.' I mumbled angrily. Casper laughed, then flew closer to me and took my hand.

And the world felt loads better.

***

'Sooo…Where are we going to sleep?' Casper asked, after we had landed in Central Park.

'God knows.' I muttered, sitting down on one of the benches. Casper sat beside me and we sat in silence, listening to the cars and sirens and other noises you hear continuously in New York City.

'New York,' I said to Casper, 'The city that never sleeps.'

'Well, I don't know how it does it.' Casper said, leaning back and yawning, 'I'm exhausted.'

'We could just sleep in a tree.'

'I love being a hobo.'

I sniggered. Then Casper did. Then we were both laughing. And we wouldn't have stopped for anything.

***

I squinted as the sun filtered through the branches, waking me. I groaned and sat up, trying not to overbalance as the branch wobbled. I looked over at Casper, who was leaning against trunk, still sleeping. It was a miracle neither of us had fallen out of the tree while sleeping, as funny as that would have been. I looked down at the ground. There was already cyclists, joggers, even horse-back riders already up and doing stuff. It'll probably take half an hour to get both my eyes to open at the same time…

I looked at my watch. Wow. Already 12:30. It's a wonder nobody saw us. I started ever so gently beating Casper awake.

'OW! Crap… What is it?' He asked, grabbing my wrists.

'It's 12:30…_pm._' I said.

'So…?'

I thought about it, then said, 'I don't know.'

Casper scowled at me.

***

'You know,' Casper said conversationally as we walked down 5th avenue, drinking sodas and holding hands, 'If we are going to The Institute, there's a _very _good chance we could die.'

I choked and nearly spat my sprite out my nose.

'That we could _die?' _I asked weakly. I leaned against him so my knees wouldn't give way.

'Oh yeah,' Casper said, sounding completely unconcerned, 'It's completely probable.'

'And when were you actually planning on telling me this?' I snapped, dropping his hand.

'I didn't want to worry you.' He said. I snorted.

'But I thought it'd be better if it knew.'

I looked at my feet, scowling.

'Melodie?' Casper asked, 'You do still want to go, don't you?'

_No, actually, I think I'll take my chances with the computer chip…_

I took a deep breath, counting to four in my head. Then I looked up again and said, 'Yes. Let's do this.' Casper smiled and took my hand again.

We took two steps forward…

And two robots leapt out of a hidden doorway.

'Hello kids!' One said, and more were coming up behind it…

I looked at Casper, whose hand had suddenly got very cold.

'Or there's a very good chance we could die _right now.' _

* * *

**Hello reviewers! I'd just like to start by saying a Huge SORRY for leaving you all waiting. Life's been giving me Hell at the minute. Sooo…Happy New Year! I'm sooo sorry for not updating in like, weeks, and then I come along and give you a crap chapter! I feel truly guilty :( But don't worry, the next chapter will be faster AND better. My exams are finished and I've finally escaped the writer's block I've had since the end of chapter eight (did I forget to tell you about that? Heh-Heh. Oops)! So, next chapter coming SOONER! In the meantime, R&R!**

**IwriteUread**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hiya people! Faster update this time! Just like I said :) **

* * *

'Crap.' I said quietly. People were screaming and running away as the robots pointed their guns at them. I moved closer to Casper and muttered in his ear, 'Great. What do we do now?'

'Run.' Casper muttered. 'Into the road.'

'When?'

'Count of three.' He muttered.

'Subject eleven, come with us.' One of the robots said in a monotone.

_What is it with this Subject eleven crap?_

'One…' I barely heard Casper's voice in my ear.

'If you come with us, neither of you will be harmed. Yet.' The robot continued.

_Oh yeah. Rave on, rave on…_

'Two…' Casper's voice was so quiet I wondered if I was actually imagining it, and he hadn't even said one yet…

'If you refuse, you will be taken by force,' The robot said, 'We'll give you five seconds to make your decision. One…'

'THREE!' Casper yelled, and we both sprinted into the road.

***

We dodged in between cars and taxis, earning abuse from drivers. I could hear the robots following us, and I was wondering how long we'd last before they captured us…

'MELODIE!' Casper yelled, grabbing my hand and yanking me into the air, so we literally _leapt over _a car. I saw the driver's face, and laughed at his expression.

'CONCENTRATE!' Casper snapped at me, as we continued to dodge between traffic. We dived for the sidewalk, and ran up it, our breath coming in terrified huffs. Just then I saw a huge crowd of people, queuing outside a shop. Casper and I skidded to a halt and started to try to beat our way through the crowd. It wasn't working, and the robots were catching up…

'WHAT NOW?!' I screeched at Casper.

'OH FOR GOD'S SAKE, _MOVE!_' Casper yelled. Instantly the crowd parted.

'Why didn't you do that at the start?!' I snapped at him as we ran down a narrow alley way.

'Didn't think of it!' He snapped back.

'How could you just _not think of it?_'

'Well, when you've got bloodthirsty robots with guns intent on _killing you _chasing you, you don't really look at the big picture!' He yelled as we whipped around yet another alley.

Straight into the bloodthirsty robots.

Who were standing in front of a van.

With it's doors open.

_Fan-freaking-tastic._

I didn't even have time to think before Casper's hand was ripped out of mine.

***

'CASPER!' I shrieked, punching and kicking the robots surrounding me. They didn't seem to want to force me into the van. They were holding me back while they did that to Casper. He was swearing and fighting with everything he had, but he was thrown in and the door slammed. The robots threw me into a brick wall, then leapt in the van and took off.

_No. _

I stood up, dusted myself off, then ran straight into the road, following the van. I followed it into the main city again, where people watched, disbelief on their faces. I heard a couple of people yelling, 'Is this a movie?!'

Now, answer me this, and be honest. Do you think Hollywood could think of something like this?

'CASPER!' I shrieked, tears rolling down my cheeks, 'CASPER!'

I heard a squeal of brakes, and then there was a car going straight at me. I screamed then leapt on the bonnet, making a dent in it, (Oops) then launching myself into the air, snapping my wings out. Some people screamed.

I pushed upwards, scowling, then launched myself at the van, grabbing the handles and trying to rip them open. We were leaving the main city behind, and driving through the suburbs, neat little houses with gardens and flowers. But no one saw the big white van, breaking the speed limit by about 100mph, and the sixteen year old girl hanging onto the back.

'CASPER!' I screamed, 'CASPER, I'M HERE!'

'MELODIE?!' Casper yelled, and I could hear the fear in his voice.

Just then I heard a bang, and I bullet whizzed so close to my ear it knocked some of my hair aside.

'Shite.' I muttered, taking off and flying higher, above the van.

Okay, whoever decided it would be a good idea to invent a gun, you suck.

I flew higher, making sure I could still see the van. Maybe I could follow it, then grab Casper when they take him out?

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my left shoulder.

_Damn, they've hit me. _

I hissed in pain, then looked left. It wasn't a bullet wedged in my shoulder, it was a…dart?

A tranquilizer.

Oh, for God's sake.

Already my eyelids were drooping, my wings beating with slower and slower motions. The van was speeding off, further into the distance.

_No, I have to get to Casper._

_I have to land. _

Feeling dizzy, I folded my wings and dropped into someone's back yard, then stood still, swaying.

And that's when I realised I wasn't alone. There was a woman standing holding a wash basket. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth was open.

I wondered what she was staring at, then remembered I still had my wings out. Crap, she'd seen them. Sure, so had the New Yorkers, but I'd probably never see any of them again. I swayed again. I didn't even have the strength to run away.

The wash basket fell to the floor. The woman turned and yelled over her shoulder, 'Iggy! Iggy, come here!'

'Casper.' I repeated stupidly, then my knees buckled.

And everything went black.

* * *

**Okay, couple of things to consider in this chapter:**

**1) The robots keep calling Melodie Subject Eleven. (Coughcoughfirstbookcough) **

**2) See what the woman yelled at the end of the chapter? Well, well, well, this seems to have created an interesting plot twist…**

**Okay, now, a question for you. **

_**I'm writing a book about my friend and her…interesting luck with boys. I want to put it up here, on Fan Fiction, but I don't have a clue what category to put it in. Any ideas? Just say!**_

**Okay, I lied. I said this was seventeen years after TAE. But I realised that wouldn't exactly **_**work. **_**So now it's twenty years after. I think… If it changes again I'll let you know. Until the next time, R&R**

**IwriteUread**


	12. Chapter 12

**Heyyyy! Welcome to Chapter 12! (Riverside) Let's go! (Have any of you heard that song? Me and my friend Crystal think it's Bloody 'mazing :])**

* * *

The first thing I remember thinking whenever I woke up was _Casper. _Was he okay? Was he still alive? Where was he?

Or a better question.

Where was _I?_

I opened my eyes. I was lying on a bed in a large room, possibly someone's bedroom. I shot up quickly, then winced as I jolted my hurt shoulder.

'Is that her awake?' I heard a man's voice say from outside. Then a young woman, maybe in her thirties, peeked her head around the door. She was quite pretty, with shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes. She walked into the room, carrying a breakfast tray. She sat it on the bedside table and looked into my face.

'Thank God she's finally awake.' She said to a tall, blonde man who had walked in behind her, 'I was starting to worry if that was a tranquilizer or not.'

'Where-Where am I?' I asked, confused.

'Just outside New York.' She said. She gave me a smile. 'You gave us quite a shock when you landed in our yard yesterday.'

_Landed in their…_

'You've seen…' I started, 'I mean, you know about…I mean…'

'Yes,' She said, 'we know about the wings. But you know you're not alone.'

'Well, _yeah,_' I blurted out, 'I mean…Wait, what?' I looked at her in confusion, 'You...?'

'Not me.' She said, shaking her head, 'My husband, Iggy.' She motioned to the man, who sat on the bed beside her. 'I'm Ella.'

'Melodie.' I muttered, staring at my lap. The idea that there were actually _adults, grown ups _like me and Casper, seemed quite hard to calculate at that moment.

Speaking of Casper…

I swung my feet out of the covers.

'Well, thanks for your hospitality, but I really have to go.' I said. I stood up, swayed, and had to sit back down again.

Ella put a hand on my shoulder. 'Please, Melodie. The tranquiliser hasn't lost all effect yet. Just sit still and rest.'

'But I have to get to Casper!' I yelled without meaning to. Iggy looked at me, and I saw that his eyes where clouded and oddly bright. He was blind.

'Casper?' He said, 'Who the Hell's Casper?'

'He's my…friend.' I said awkwardly, 'We were in the city, and he got kidnapped.'

'Kidnapped?' He and Ella looked at each other. Like, Iggy actually looked _at her. _Like he could see her.

'Kidnapped….By who?' Ella asked, eyebrows raised.

'I…I don't really know.' I said, 'By like, these robots. They've been chasing us for weeks now.' I tried to grin, 'It's actually got pretty annoying.'

Ella and Iggy looked at each other again, and then back at me.

Finally, Ella broke the silence. 'Did you…Grow up in a lab?'

I was so startled I laughed. It just seemed like a kinda…_random _question to ask.

'No,' I said, controlling myself pretty quickly, 'I grew up in an orphanage. Well, for ten years. Then I got adopted.'

'Oh.' Ella said. Her and Iggy looked at each other again.

Another silence. Then I remembered…

'Casper did though.'

Another look. Another stare.

'Grew up in a lab?' Iggy asked.

'Yeah. It was called…' I clicked my fingers a couple of times, 'The Is…The Ins…'

'The Institute?' Iggy said.

'Yeah, that's was it.' I said. We lapsed into silence again.

'Tell us everything.' Iggy said, 'Right from when they started hunting you.'

So I spoke into the silence for nearly ten minutes, telling them everything right from when I first met Casper, to Judith's death, to Them finding me at the lake, to Casper being kidnapped yesterday. When I was done, Ella and Iggy stood up.

'Eat the breakfast.' Ella muttered to me, before turning to Iggy.

'Are you going to…'

'I'm going to go ring them now. Though I don't know if they'll be able to help. All of them are always so busy. And anyway, I could probably go with her myself…' They were starting to walk out of the room, still muttering to each other, when I remembered something else.

'The robots.' I said, 'They keep calling me…I don't know if I'm hearing it right…It sounded like…'

'Yes?' Ella said, nudging Iggy, who looked about to yell 'Get on with it!'.

'They call me…Subject Eleven.' I said, 'Do you know what that means?' I looked up, and saw Iggy and Ella staring at each other in horror.

***

I was sitting on the porch in Iggy and Ella's backyard, staring at the spot where I had collapsed only a few hours ago. I looked up at the slowly darkening sky, and wondered where Casper was now, if he was still alive…

'Hi.'

I stifled a shriek and turned around.

'Sorry,' Ella said, 'I always do that to people.' She smiled at me, 'Mind if I join you?'

'Nope.' I said, moving over so she could sit beside me.

After everything that had happened in the past few weeks, you're probably wondering why I wasn't being more careful and paranoid. Well, I was planning to, and I was, but something about Ella and Iggy just made me feel compelled to trust them. Must be my quirky personality.

'Melodie?'

I realised Ella must have said my name about three times. I turned to her and murmured, 'Sorry'.

Ella smiled. 'That's okay. You remind me of my older sister. She used to do that all the time.'

'You have a sister?' I asked. _Wonder how normal families work…_

'Yeah, Max.' Ella said, looking into the sky. Stars were coming out now, along with the moon.

There was a pause, then she said, 'I have a daughter too.'

I turned to her, 'What?' but she had covered her hand with her mouth, looking horrified.

I shook her shoulder gently, 'Ella, what did you say?'

She stayed silent.

'Ella?'

'It- It doesn't matter.' She looked at her feet, her cheeks pink, 'Not important.'

'Tell me.' I said. She looked at me. 'Please.' I added.

She took a deep breath. 'I had a daughter. With Iggy. When I was sixteen. Accidentally. I didn't actually mean for anything to happen. We lived in dangerous times. The robots that are chasing you. They chased us as well. Even if they were slightly less evolved.' She shuddered. 'We rushed into it. I had her in a hospital in New York. But I couldn't keep her. It was too dangerous. _We _were too dangerous.' She suddenly sniffed and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. 'I…gave her to an orphanage.'

Now it was my turn to shudder.

'What was-' I started, then said in a stronger voice, 'What was the name of the orphanage?'

'It was called…' Ella started, but just then Iggy came out.

'Been talking to Angel.' He said, 'She's fine. Says nothing's happened to her. At all.'

'That's- That's good.' Ella said, taking a deep breath. Iggy looked at me.

'Ready to go?' He asked.

'Go? Go where?' I asked, feeling confused.

'To get your friend.' Iggy said, rolling his sightless eyes. 'We're going now.'

'Yes!' I said, leaping to my feet, 'Are we going, like, right now?!'

'Yep.' Iggy said, grinning.

'Do you know where my backpack is?' I asked Ella, who stood up also.

'It's in the kitchen.' She said. I ran in, followed by them. I lifted it off the chair it was sitting on so fast it opened, and it's contents still all over the floor, revealing clothes, notebooks and…

A small, metal pen, which made a beeping noise as it landed on the floor.

Iggy bent down and picked it up. He pressed a button on it, and it beeped again.

'Wow,' I said weekly, sinking into a chair, 'This explains soooo much.'

* * *

**Hope you liked this chapter! Remember:  
a) R&R**

**b) Pipes are people too. **

**IwriteUread**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello! Today is chapter thirteen (crap, unlucky number) (not that I believe in all that crap) (excuse me while I find my point again)… Hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

'OW!' I screeched, as Iggy grabbed one of my long, blonde plaits and slammed me into the wall. 'Iggy, what the-.'

'Did you know the tracer was in there?' He snarled. My eyes went wide.

'Oh, so _that's _what it is.' I said, trying to lean off the wall.

Iggy growled and pressed down on my throat.

'Did. You. Know. It. Was. There?'

'What- No!' I said, trying to push his hand away. 'I haven't looked in my bag since two days ago'

'Iggy,' Ella said calmly, 'I believe her. Now will you please let go of her throat? We have enough to worry about without the matter of body disposal added to it all.'

Iggy let go, and I peeled myself off the wall, rubbing my throat.

'You swear you didn't know it was there?' Iggy asked, looking at Ella.

'No, of course I didn't.' I said, 'Why would I want to walk around with a tracer in my backpack?'

Iggy and Ella looked at each other but didn't say anything.

'So, what does this mean?' I asked, folding my arms.

'It means that you need to leave. Right now.' Ella said, already pulling food out of the cupboards.

'Where are you going to go?' Iggy asked.

'Nudge lives in the city, I'll stay with her for a while.' Ella said. I looked at her.

'Why do you have to go?'

'Tracer.' Ella said, passing Iggy food, 'They could be coming here right now.' She looked at me. 'Explains why you keep getting found so quickly.'

'So you have to leave?' I said, immediately feeling guilty.

She smiled. 'It's fine, Melodie, don't worry. What's important is that you and Iggy get out of here.' She started passing me food, 'Iggy's ran out of room.'

'We need to get rid of the tracer.' Iggy said. He still had it clenched tightly in one fist.

'Just throw it when you're in the air.' Ella said carelessly, 'I have to go and pack.' She left. Which left me and Iggy standing awkwardly in the kitchen.

Iggy looked at me and grinned. 'Hey, sorry for almost strangling you.'

I grinned back. 'That's fine. I would have done the same thing. Only it would probably be a lot less intimidating.'

'Where do you think they took your friend…Jasper?'

'Casper.' I corrected him. 'I don't honestly know. Casper said he grew up in the Institute, which he says is in the city, but it seemed like the van was leading _out, _know what I mean?'

'It's possible they were trying to lead you into a false trail.' Iggy said, his eyes narrowed. 'But where would they take him otherwise.'

I shrugged.

'Melodie? Did you hear me?'

'What- Oh right, right. Sorry. I don't know.' Talk about making a fool of yourself. Shrug at a _blind guy. _

Just then Ella came downstairs again, much to my relieve.

'I've rang for a cab.' She said, 'It should be here in about ten minutes.'

'Okay.' Iggy said tensely. He grabbed her shoulders. 'Are you sure you'll be alright?'

Ella rolled her eyes. 'Ig-You worry too much. I'll be fine.'

'Have you told Nudge?'

'Not yet. But Nudge's cool. She loves company. You know what she's like.'

Iggy nodded. Ella abandoned her suitcase and walked up to me.

'You take care, Melodie.' She said, smiling. 'Iggy's going with you. You should be alright.'

'Okay,' I said, and I was horrified to feel a lump in my throat. 'You'll be alright, won't you?'

Ella laughed. Her face crinkled and her eyebrows shot up. It reminded me of the face Judith said I did when I laughed.

'Honestly, you're worse than Iggy.' She said, then without warning, she pulled me into a hug. 'I'll be fine.' She whispered in my ear.

'You two be careful.' She said when she had broken away from me and hugged Iggy. 'If I get one message saying you've broken a wing, or…'

We heard a car drawing up.

'Well, that's me.' She said, looking over her shoulder. 'I'll see you later.' Then she lifted her suitcase and ran out the front door.

_Wow, _I thought, _if I could pick my mother, I would pick Ella. _

'Well, guess we're going then.' Iggy said. We walked into the back yard, which was in darkness now. We ran towards the small woods, then lifted up, our wings taking us higher.

As we gained altitude, I sighed happily, looking down on the little speck that was Iggy and Ella's house.

_Casper, I'm coming._

**V.I.Q (very important question):**

**Tanya: Alive or Dead?**

**R&R**

**IwriteUread**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi! I'm back for another chapter! But first there's a couple of reviews I need to reply to:**

**Maximum101 (anonymous reviewer) - If you're asking who Tanya is and if Casper and Melodie could imprint I suggest you read the whole story. Also I'm a bit confused as to what imprint actually **_**means.**_

**As to the question in the last chapter, I now have the answer!**

**You'll see.**

* * *

'Where should we go first?' Iggy asked after we had been flying for about ten minutes.

'What do you mean?' I asked, flying closer to him. It had started to rain, and large specks of water kept hitting my nose. My wet bangs kept getting in my eyes. I brushed them away impatiently and thought how wonderful it would be to just cut them off.

'Where do you want to look for him first?'

'I dunno,' I said, 'We were heading out of the city, but I can't help thinking they were just trying to trick me. I was following the van when the tranquilizer hit me.'

'Hmmm…' Iggy muttered. She flew in silence for a few minutes, then he said, 'I had a sister once. She used to give me and my siblings advice. Something she always used to say was, 'Go with your first instinct.' Sooo…' Silence

_Go with your first instinct…_

'C'mon.' I said, flapping forward, 'We're going back to the city.'

Iggy smiled.

***

'Crap.' I said, stopping suddenly in the middle of the street.

Iggy turned to me. 'What?'

'I don't even know where the Institute is.' I said, sitting on some steps outside a building and putting my head in my hands. After all this, I had been stupid _yet again, _and lost any chance of rescuing Casper. Iggy knelt down beside me.

'You're in luck.'

I looked up, wiping my eyes on my sleeve. 'Huh?'

'I happen to have been in the Institute before.' Iggy said, pulling me to my feet. I looked at him.

'Do I want to know…?'

'No.'

'Soooo…Where is it.'

Silence.

'Iggy?'

'You'll see.'

***

'Okay…' I said, seriously confused. 'Why are we in the subway? I thought we were going to the Institute.'

'We are.' Iggy said, leaping over the barrier and facing the dark tunnel. He turned to me. 'You coming?'

'Ummm, okay!' I said brightly, leaping over the barrier too.

We walked along the tracks, being careful to stay away from the third rail. I was so nervous I was getting a rash. Iggy kept cracking his knuckles. Suddenly, he stopped.

'Iggy, what…' I started.

'Train.' He muttered. 'Get off the tracks.'

Gulping, I stepped to the side. I could hear the rumbling as the train drew nearer. Iggy was pressed as flat against the opposite wall as he could.

_Omigod I'm going to die…_

_WHOOSH!_

_Great mother of God!_

My plaits were whipped across my face as the train went past so fast it felt like the skin was being peeled off my face.

When it was gone, I unpeeled myself cautiously off the wall, examining the disgusting layer of grime my hands were now covered in.

'Well,' Iggy said, grabbing my arm so I didn't fall over, 'That was fun.'

I gave a laugh way more high pitched than usual.

We walked until we came to a fork.

'Well,' I said, 'Which way do we go now?' I looked round and saw Iggy already heading towards the fork with no tracks.

'Where does this lead?' I asked him.

'The Institute, duh.'

'No, but what's in here, apart from the Institute?' I asked, rolling my eyes.

'Well,' Iggy said, bending down and running his hands along the floor, 'Is there a metal grate here?'

'Yeah, but…'

'Help me lift it. It's too stiff.'

The two of us lifted it easily. I breathed in…

And almost freaking choked.

'Iggy,' I choked, trying not to retch, 'What in the name of Hell…?'

'Welcome to the route to the Institute.' Iggy said, smiling grimly.

'You mean,' I said, holding my nose, 'You mean it's in the bloody sewers?'

'Yeah.' Iggy said, 'Now get in and stop being such a girl.'

I rolled my eyes and climbed in. Iggy followed me.

'This is absolutely disgusting.' I said. Then I saw movement, and shrieked.

'What?! Melodie, what is it?' Iggy asked, grabbing my arm.

'A RAT! A freaking _rat!' _I screeched, jumping up and down.

Iggy sighed.

***

'We're here.' Iggy said, stopping in front of what looked like solid wall.

'We're where?' I asked, confused.

Iggy looked at me. 'Are you always this slow?'

'So, is this a door?' I asked, looking.

'Yeah, see if you look there, you should be able to see the keyhole.' Iggy said, pointing. Now he said it, I could see the keyhole. Just one problem…

No key.

'Erm, Iggy?' I said, but he had already bent down and picked a small box out of his pocket. 'Iggy, what…?'

'Lock picking kit.' He said, picking a tool out. Three minutes later, the door swung open.

Revealing a long passage of steps. Going down. Of course. There was no handrail. Of course.

'Let me guess. We're standing in front of a long staircase. Going down. There's no light.' Iggy said.

'Yep.'

'Let's go.'

'You mean, the Institute's actually down _there?_' I squeaked. 'Iggy, I'm not good on stairs. I trip all the time. And…' Iggy looked at me.

'Okay, okay, I'm going.'

***

We walked slowly down the stairs, feeling the walls and placing one foot directly in front of the other. Well, at least I _think _that's we were doing. Because, as I have already pointed out, _there was no light. _The floor was wet and slippy, two of my least favourite things.

I was starting to really worry. How big was the Institute? Because, for some reason, I doubted Casper would be sitting in an armchair by the fire, drinking a latte.

'See anything yet?' Iggy asked.

'Nope.'

Without warning, my foot slipped out from under me. I shrieked and grabbed Iggy around the neck. He fell too.

W both fell awkwardly down all the stairs, cracking our heads off the steps, wall and each other. There was no way to stop.

Our combined weight made us crash through the door at the end of the staircase.

We landed on something soft and thick, and it took me a minute to realise it was _carpet. _

_Okay, _I thought sluggishly, _What the Heck…_

'MELODIE!' Someone yelled.

_That voice…_

I looked up.

'CASPER!' I screeched, untangling myself from Iggy and doing this lame hobble-lurch thing towards him. We smashed together, my head buried in his shoulder. His face was bruised and bloodied, and he seemed thinner.

I looked at him. 'C'mon, we're getting out of here.'

'No, Melodie, you need to leave…'

'Not without you.'

'No Melodie, you don't understand…' He said urgently.

'Understand what?! I'm not leaving you!'

'No, Melodie, it's a trap…'

There was a bang…

And my world went blank.

* * *

**OoOo, cliffy!**

**Okay, I'm being honest here. I don't think this was one of my better chapters. Aw well :) R&R anyhow**

**IwriteUread**


	15. Chapter 15

**HellOoOo! Long author's note at the end of the chapter. It's actually so long I've had to put it in parts -_- Here's the next chapter!**

* * *

Ow! This bed was so hard! What was wrong with my bed?

Eyes still shut, I levered myself into a sitting position, and banged my head on something hard. Ow!

I opened my eyes. I was in a small, white room, sitting in a cage. Yep, _a cage. _Like a dog crate.

_Ok, what the Hell is going on?_

I looked around the tiny room, and saw Iggy and Casper sitting on the shelve across from me, shoved into their own tiny cages. Iggy was looking straight ahead, eyes closed. Casper, seeing I was awake, looked over and said, 'Are you alright?'

I nodded, then quickly stopped because of the pain in my head.

'Where are we?' I whispered, staring around at the white walls, the almost invisible door.

'Deeper inside the Institute.' Casper muttered. 'You were only in the main entrance hall.' He smirked. 'I'm guessing it was you who tripped on the steps?'

'How long have I been out for?' I asked, deciding to ignore his last comment.

'About five hours.' He said, 'I've been trying to make conversation.' He pointed at Iggy, 'He's having none of it.'

I looked at Iggy. 'C'mon, Iggy, snap out of it.' I muttered, 'We need to work together, come up with a plan.'

Iggy looked at me and sighed. After a pause he said, 'Okay.'

I smiled.

'Okay, so what are we gonna…' Casper started, but then the door swung open and a man in a whitecoat walked in, followed by two of the robots, who had guns.

'Are you them?' He asked us.

'Ummm…' I started, but then Iggy said, 'Go to Hell.' And Casper gave him the finger and said, 'Stupid bastard.'

The man motioned one of the robots forward, and it hit Iggy in the side of the head with his gun. I heard a yelp as blood exploded from behind his left ear.

'Hey!' I yelled, 'What was that for?'

The man reached through the bars in the cage and cuffed me. My head snapped sideways.

'I will not be spoken to like that by _mutants.' _He spat, 'You need to learn to respect your betters.'

'Well then you'll be waiting a hell of a long time.' Casper snarled. 'Because we _have _no betters.'

The robots pointed their guns at him. One was aiming directly at his forehead.

'Give me a reason,' the man said, 'And I'll do it.'

'Go ahead then,' Casper said, 'I'm ready.'

The man in the white coat stared at him for almost as minute, before turning and walking out of the room. The robots followed him. When they left, we sat in silence, and I eventually said cheerfully, 'Well, that went well!'

Casper nodded. 'It was both useful and fun.'

'Please,' Iggy said, trying to quench the flow of blood to his head, 'I'm drowning in your sarcasm.'

I stared at him. 'Is your head okay?'

Iggy shrugged. 'It's fine.'

'Well, what do we do now?' I asked, looking at them. They shrugged helpfully.

'They obviously want us for something, or they would have killed us straight out.' Iggy said.

I shuddered at the thought.

'But then, they could be trying to lure the others here.' Iggy muttered, talking more to himself than anyone else, 'Yeah, 'cos they do think Melodie is Angel…'

Casper looked at me with a "what's he on about?" expression. I shrugged.

'I think they want us to do something for them.' Iggy said, 'A test of some sort.'

'So, what do we do?' Casper asked.

'There's nothing to do except wait.' Iggy said, tucking his knees up to his chin and closing his eyes.

Casper and I looked at each other, and Casper shrugged. I reached through the bars of the cage so I could hold his hand. My eyes closed…

***

I didn't even get a chance to wake up before I was dragged out of my cage by my hair. Yet _another _reason to cut my hair short. Iggy and Casper were dragged out too. The robots stood around us, their guns pointed at our heads. This was starting to get seriously old…

'We are taking you to your next test.' One of the robots said in its monotone.

'Told you.' Iggy whispered.

We were half kicked, half dragged down a series of long hall ways, when we finally emerged in a large room about the size of your average football stadium. It had long curtains hanging down off the ceiling, and various tabs and containers of different sizes. Some of them were labelled highly flammable.

'What's happening?' I muttered to Iggy and Casper, 'Where are we?'

'I don't know.' Casper muttered. 'Anyone got a plan?'

'Stand in a circle.' Iggy instructed, 'Facing outwards. Protect each other's backs.'

We stood in a circle, trying to brace ourselves for whatever was coming. Suddenly, we heard noises from outside the room, while the door was shut. The three of us looked up when we heard a girl's voice yell, 'MOVE OVER, BITCHES! NUDGE HAS COME TO HOGWARTS!'

Then the door burst open.

***

A tall, black girl ran in, her long brown hair flowing down her back. She had a pair of tawny _wings _on her back. Apparently Casper and I are far from the only mutants in the world.

'Nudge?!' Iggy yelled.

'Nudge?' Casper and I said, looking at each other in confusion.

'Hey, Iggy!' The girl yelled, casually roundhouse kicking a whitecoat in the chest.

Iggy grabbed me and Casper and pulled us towards the girl.

'How'd you know we were here?!' He yelled, punching a robot while staring at Nudge.

'Ella told me about your little rescue mission.' She said, looking at me and Casper out of the corner of her eye.

'Where is Ella?' I asked. Just then Ella herself came sprinting through the door, followed by two robots. She was holding a lighter in her hand, and screamed as one threw their gun at her. It hit her in the leg, making her fall. The lighter flew out of her hand and landed near one of the curtains. Within seconds the curtain was on fire. Just then Iggy smashed a whitecoat into the table. One of the tubs fell on the fire.

Within seconds, the whole curtain was in flames. The flames from that curtain caught the curtain next to it.

I think you can do the math.

Within minutes, I was trapped in a burning room with four other people, one of whom couldn't fly.

I think the word here is _shit. _

***

'Oh awesome,' Nudge said, 'What do we do now?'

'We need to fly up.' Iggy said, grabbing Ella and lifting her.

'But what if we hit the curtain?' I asked.

'There's something you can do to avoid that.' Iggy said.

'What?' Casper asked.

'_Don't hit the Bloody curtains.' _

We spread our wings and took to the air, weaving around and past the flaming curtains.

Robots were still on the ground, some in flames, some shooting at us. I dodged out of the way as a bullet whizzed close to my ear. I flew too far left.

My open jacket brushed against the curtain.

I screeched as my jacket started flaming.

'Melodie, what's wrong?!' Casper yelled. He looked over his shoulder, saw my smoky jacket, went pale, then yelled exactly what I was thinking. 'GREAT MOTHER OF GOD!' He backtracked and started beating my jacket.

'MELODIE, CASPER, WATCH OUT!' Ella yelled, and me and Casper both swore as we dropped altitude so we didn't hit solid wall.

We flew through the door into a smaller room. Me and Casper yanked off my jacket and threw it on the floor. We didn't get a chance to beat it out, because several robots came into the room on fire and fell to the floor, making stuff fall off shelves and setting the carpet on the floor alight.

I look at Casper, 'Oh, what fun this is.'

'C'MON, WE NEED TO LEAVE!' Iggy yelled, setting Ella down and taking her hand instead. Fire was everywhere, spreading out into the corridors and into other rooms. Nudge took my hand and Casper took my other.

'Come on, kids, this way!' Nudge said, running out of the room, we were closely followed by Iggy and Ella.

Whitecoats were yelling, glass was smashing, and I was choking on the thick smoke that filled the air. We ran through the Institute, our eyes watering, when a young and terrified scream made us stop. Nudge, Casper and me whipped around. There was a door open, and we could just see the room into it. It was empty except for one desk at the end, which had a cage sitting on it.

Inside there was a girl of about twelve, screaming and hitting the metal bars, her bright blue eyes filled with terror. She was tall and slender, with pale skin and light brown hair. She looked familiar.

I felt Casper's hand jerk in mine. I turned to him. His eyes were on the girl, and he was mouthing one word.

_Tanya. _

* * *

**Part 1- An Apology**

**Okay, I am very sorry. I haven't undated in FOREVER, and this chapter is pretty ramblely and long (well, I think). I had writer's block, and life was throwing itself at me at the minute. Sorry. **

*******

**Part 2- Review of Fang for any Americans who want to read it. **

**Okay, got Fang on Wednesday. Read Fang on Wednesday. Finished Fang on Wednesday. I have to say, I wasn't **_**overly **_**impressed with this book. Yeah, it was good enough, lots of action and a good bit of romance. But…**

**During it, Max and Fang seemed like the only characters. Angel=Bitch. Dylan=Meaningless. Gazzy and Nudge=Props. Iggy=This is going to sound weird, but he seemed really…2D, or something. He just didn't leap off the page like he usually does. Maybe it's just me. And during the middle, Fang got **_**very **_**OCC. Not saying anything more in case I get sued. **

**The end devastated me. It takes A LOT to make me cry at books, at this ending nearly did it for me (note I said **_**nearly). **_**All I have to say is, **

**James Patterson, you have ONE BOOK to change the ending of Fang, or I swear I'll stop reading the series (Psh, like that's going to happen. Those books are addictive!). **

**All in all, I give it 3 stars out of five. On my list of best books in series, it comes joint fifth with TFW. **

*******

**Part 3- What book should I write next. **

**My brain's too fast for me. I've thought up a grand total of TWENTY TWO stories while writing THIS one. I don't write more than ONE story at a time, or I'll get confused and put Ginny Weasley in Marley and Me or something. So you get to decide! Do you want me to write:**

**a) A Maximum Ride fan fiction, as usual. **

**b) A Harry Potter fan fic, I've always loved the books.**

**c) A Marley and Me fan fic, It only has fifteen stories in that category so far. **

**d) A horror story (or my attempt at one) that I have yet to categorise. **

**It's your choice, so get voting!**

**IwriteUread**


	16. Chapter 16

The girl screamed again, then started coughing violently. I swallowed, and then looked at Casper.

_Oh my God, he's gonna…_

Casper ripped his hand out of mine, and charged towards the room, dodging nimbly through the flames. Until he got to the open door. Then he just jumped through them, probably burning his skin. I doubted if he cared.

'CASPER!' Nudge yelled, and then, 'MELODIE, DON'T YOU DARE!' But I didn't listen. I wrenched my hand out of hers and sprinted after Casper. I leapt towards the door, yelping as the fire burned me.

Inside the room, it was swelteringly hot and thick with smoke. I squinted around the room, because I literally couldn't see Casper or the girl _anywhere. _Just then, I saw a tall figure and a smaller figure in a cage. I groped towards them, then tripped and fell into Casper.

'Ouch! Bloody Hell…' Casper said, and then, 'Melodie? What the Hell are you doing here?!'

'Making sure I don't lose you again!' I yelled, using the desk to pull myself up. I breathed in and started choking on the black smoke.

'Why can't you open the cage?!' I yelled.

'There's a lock on it, and…' He started.

'Oh, for God's sake, Casper!' I yelled, 'I thought you were tougher than a lock, you great wuss!' I grabbed the lock, then pulled it right off, then yelled in pain. The last thing I expected was to break my fingers pulling the lock off. I doubled over, swearing, then inhaled the smoke and started choking again.

'YOU ASS!' Casper yelled, holding me up as I swore. 'WHY THE _HELL _DID YOU THINK I JUST DIDN'T WANT TO RIP THE LOCK RIGHT OFF?! BECAUSE, IF I DID, I'D BREAK MY BLOODY FINGERS!'

'STOP IT, STOP IT, YOU IMMATURE BABIES!' A voice yelled from beside us. We both turned, our eyebrows raised.

The girl had climbed out of her cage, and now that she was standing, I could see she was about thirteen years old, with bright blue eyes and brown hair that reached her shoulder.

'Tanya, I don't want to sound rude or ungrateful, but…Why aren't you dead?!' Casper yelled.

'Later!' She yelled, 'We need to get out of here, now!' She grabbed our hands and started pulling us towards the door. For a little kid, she was weirdly strong. She pulled us towards the door, and before I realised, her and Casper had leapt through, dragging me with them. Either they were communicating telepathically or they just knew each other so well, but they just seemed to know exactly what the other was thinking. We flew through the door and almost banged into Iggy, Ella and Nudge.

'Brilliant, you two!' Iggy yelled, 'If we don't make it out of here alive, I'll kill you.'

Tanya's eyebrows knitted together, and she cocked her head to one side, as if trying to work that sentence out. 'But, how does that…'

Casper shoved her in the back. 'It doesn't matter! We need to get out of here!' He looked at me. 'Any idea how?'

'I know!' Tanya squealed excitedly, 'Follow me!' Before any of us could blink, she ran down the hallway.

'Tanya!' Casper yelled, and Nudge yelled, 'Come back!'

'We need to go after her!' Casper said, looking at Iggy, who nodded. We started running blindly down the hallway, trying hard not to run into walls or desks. I could hear Ella coughing. We needed to get her out of here…

As we were about to head down the corridor where Tanya ran, we heard a high pitched scream. Casper, Nudge and I ran in front of Iggy and Ella, and sprinted round the corner, only to stop dead.

Tanya was lying on the floor, staring upwards, a look of pure terror on her thin face.

As I stared at her tiny body, I heard Casper mutter, 'Oh shit.' I drew my eyes away from Tanya, and looked up.

***

There was a huge wolf creature staring down at Tanya, in a way a starving man might look at cotton candy. He grinned, and Tanya screamed again.

I didn't need the thirteen years at the lab Casper had had to know this was an eraser. I swallowed. It was easily the most terrifying thing I'd ever seen in my life.

The eraser bent down, grinning, _grabbed Tanya by the throat, _and lifted her up so she was dangling in mid-air_. _Casper and Nudge seemed paralysed with fear, their mouths open in silent screams.

_No…_

Before the Eraser had time to do anything, I had thrown myself into the room, skidding and knocking his feet out from under him. He flew backwards and let go of Tanya, who kicked hard off his chest and launched herself into the air, spreading pure white wings, almost identical to mine. I rolled out of the way before he crushed me, clambering to my feet and standing on a table. The Eraser got to his feet, roaring, but before he could react, I leapt off the table, screaming, and hooked my arms around his neck.

The Eraser started screaming, beating around his neck and head, trying to pull me off. The pain in my fingers was so bad that I wanted to cry out, throw up and faint all at the same time. Even so, I held on, and managed to smash my head as hard into the Eraser's as I could. I instantly saw fireworks. _Urgh, nobody wins with a headbutt. _

Dimly, I saw Nudge rip a fire extinguisher off the wall and hurl it at the Eraser's feet. He fell backwards, arms whirling and me gripping on for dear life. He landed hard on the ground, and my breath left me in a whoosh. I think I heard a rip crack. Dimly, I realised his body was limb, and I kicked and punched my way out from under the hairy body. Casper raced over and pulled me to my feet. My knees buckled and everything went grey. Before I knew it, Casper had scooped me into his arms and was running towards the door.

'I GOT HER! SHE'S ALRIGHT!' He yelled, bursting through the door. I saw Nudge, Ella, Iggy and Tanya huddled around an open door. Casper ran through it, and I heard it shut behind us. Casper set me down and I clumsily ran. I suddenly realised we were out of the Institute and in the sewer system again.

The sewer system of eight million people had never smelt so good.

***

The six of us didn't stop running until we had left the sewers and ran down eight different streets and avenues. We stopped halfway down one, when Tanya knelt down in the pouring rain, gasping, coughing, retching and crying all at the same time. I massaged my broken ribs as Casper knelt down beside her, pulling her into his hard shoulder. Nudge looked around the five of us, at Iggy, who was covered in bruises and soot, at Ella, who was gasping, leaning against a wall, at me, swaying where I was standing, and at Casper and Tanya kneeling on the ground.

'Right, that's it. I'm calling a cab.' She said, pulling a mobile out of her pocket.

Ella looked at her in shock. 'How-the Hell- did you manage to hold on to that this whole time?' She wheezed. The smoke inhalation had affected her more than any of us, what with no genetically enhanced lungs.

Nudge grinned at her. 'Magic.'

Ella rolled her eyes.

* * *

**Hi! I'm so sorry this took so long to update. I was just kinda busy. And writer's block (I always seem to have that, don't I?). **

**I made a poll on my profile, and I would appreciate it if you could pick some for me. I know the options are kinda weird, but you'll see (: (Death by backwards smiley MWAHAHAHAHA)**

**Also, Sonya Rivers, I can confirm that Fang does actually leave the flock. That's all I'm saying, as I am pretty broke at the minute and do not want sued. **

**R&R**

**IwriteUread **


	17. Chapter 17

'Whoa, what happened to _you?' _The cab driver looked with raised eyebrows at the six of us sitting in the ground, covered in soot, bruises and blood.

'None of your business.' Nudge snapped, standing up and putting a hand on Tanya's shoulder, 'And I'll pay you extra not to tell anyone about this.'

The driver looked taken aback for a second, then he nodded and said, 'Of course, Miss. Where to?'

Nudge looked at Iggy and Ella. 'We'll go to my place, it's nearest.' They nodded in agreement.

The six of us piled into the cab, barely fitting. Ella's face was pressed against the window and I was practically sitting on Casper's lap. Tanya was gripping Casper's arm tightly, her face pressed against his jacket, not looking at any of us. I looked round Iggy and out the window, watching the lights and buildings of New York City flash past. I had a feeling things were going to be better now. I had a feeling that the people in the whitecoats thought that we were all dead, or else they were all dead themselves. Ella sensed me looking and turned around, grinning at me. I smiled back. The cab driver was looking straight ahead, whistling nervously through his teeth and glancing at Nudge, who was in the passenger seat, from the corner of his eye every few seconds. I think he was scared of her. I giggled quietly. Casper looked at me, his eyebrows raised.

'I think he's afraid of Nudge.' I muttered, nodding at the driver. Casper snorted. With a start, Tanya sat blot upright, her eyes wide and fearful.

I swallowed. What had they done to her?

***

Nudge's flat was small, cosy, and covered in clutter. Stacks of paper covered the floor and fashion magazines were littered everywhere. In the corner, beside a picture of six kids, a phone was vibrating. Nudge picked it up.

'Crap, five messages from Angel, two from Doctor Martinez, one from Fang and eight from Max.' She said. She looked at Iggy. 'I'm gonna have to ring _someone _back.'

'Ring Max.' Iggy said, 'She's probably ready to fly to the Institute from Arizona.'

Nudge nodded. Then she looked at Tanya, standing awkwardly in a corner. 'Move some of those papers over, sweetie. Sit down.' Her voice was sweet and gentle, like she really cared. Then she left the room, biting her lip as she held the phone to her ear.

I shifted a few People magazines, an article on sneakers that had fallen out of a folder, and a Starbucks cup that once held some kind of coffee out of the way and sat down the small sofa. Tanya sat down as well and put her head on my shoulder. I blinked and looked at her tiny body curled up against me, then looked at Casper, one eyebrow raised.

'She's very trusting.' He whispered. 'Sometimes too much.' I smiled at him. Tanya's breathing had slowed and her head had relaxed on my shoulder, so I assumed she was asleep. When I looked at her face, I saw that amongst the bruises and blood, she had large dark circles under her eyes. When was the last time the kid got a decent sleep? Just then Nudge came in, grinning slightly.

'Everything's fine.' She said, flopping unto the sofa. 'Max wants to come up and check on us, but I told her we were fine.' She looked at Iggy and Ella. 'We are fine, aren't we?'

Ella nodded. 'I don't think the Institute's gonna bother us anymore.' She said grimly, rubbing some soot off her arm.

'Um…Nudge?' I asked, gently pushing Tanya's head off my shoulder.

Nudge looked at me. 'Yeah?'

'Do you have a shower?' I muttered, suddenly embarrassed with no idea why. 'It's just… You know…'

'Sure.' Nudge said. 'Go into the hall, and it's the third door on your left.'

I nodded and stood up. I stared around the small living room, and tried to catch Casper's eye. He sensed me looking and turned to me. 'What?'

'Can I talk to you?' I asked him. 'Somewhere private.'

He raised one eyebrow but followed me into the hall. I looked at him.

'Is Tanya normally like this?' I asked, 'You know, all jumpy and…all.'

His eyes narrowed in concern. 'No. But she's been alone for a few years, so yeah.'

I nodded. 'Yeah.'

***

When I walked into the living room forty five minutes later, thinking about how Nudge was going to kill me for using all the hot water, I found it empty except for one person.

Tanya was sitting up on the sofa. The TV was on, and she was flicking through the channels with an awed expression on her face. I sat beside her, trying not to laugh at her happy expression when the TV changed from a talk show, to a football game, to a news report.

'Did you know it could do this?' She asked me in wonder.

I smiled at her. 'Yep.'

We sat in silence for a few minutes, then Tanya said completely out of the blue, 'Casper loves you a lot.'

'Huh?' I asked, looking at her. _Okay, is there a freaky mind reading kid number two…?_

'I can't read minds.' She said, no longer staring at the TV, 'But I can just tell.' She looked at her feet. 'I know him very well.' She grinned. 'Looks like I have competition now. But for God's sake don't tell him I told you. He'd kill me.'

'Where is Casper anyway? And the others?' I asked, suddenly aware of how empty the tiny living room was.

'Casper and Iggy are out flying. Ella's shopping. Nudge is in the kitchen.' Tanya said, her attention back on the TV. After another minute, she said, 'I owe you one, by the way, for saving me from the eraser.'

I shrugged. 'I didn't really think about it.'

'That much,' Tanya said, half-smiling, 'is obvious. When you just leapt in, it was probably the bravest and stupidest thing I've ever seen in my epically crap life.'

I grinned. 'Like, I said, I didn't think about it.'

We sat in silence again. Then I sighed and said, 'Tanya, can I ask you something?'

'You just did.' She said snidely, sticking her tongue out at me.

I rolled my eyes. Nothing like a thirteen year olds sense of humour. 'I mean, can I ask you something else?'

'Sure.'

'Well, it's just, when I met him, Casper said you were dead.' I said. 'Well, what I mean is, why are you, I mean, how are you…not?'

'Not dead?' She said, 'I'm not actually too sure myself. It's like, before we went into the arena, they injected us with some kind of liquid that made us see hallucinations. I don't know why Casper saw that particular thing. It could have been anything. I remember mine being really random…'

'What was yours? I asked.

She looked at her feet. 'You'll laugh.'

'No I won't.'

'Bet you will.'

'How much?'

'Five dollars.'

'Fine.' I said, 'Bring it. What did you see?'

'I saw jelly everywhere.'

It was so random, I snorted, and then swore. Tanya laughed in triumph, pointing at me.

'You owe me five bucks!' She exclaimed, 'Pay up!'

'But I don't have five bucks!'

'Oh well done!'

Then we were both laughing, leaning on each other's shoulders and almost crying. When Casper and Iggy came in ten minutes later, nothing had changed.

***

The five of us sat in the tiny kitchen that night, eating the takeaway pizzas Ella had ordered. Everytime we caught Casper looking at me, Tanya and I would look at each other and giggle. I could tell it was starting to seriously irritate Casper by the expression on his face.

We were sitting in silence, when Tanya said something out of the blue. Apparently, she has a habit of doing that.

'Guess what?' She said excitedly.

'What?' Casper said, exchanging a look with me. I shrugged.

'While you were away,' She said, looking at Casper, 'I got a new ability!'

* * *

**Okay, I'm very sorry. I've been neglecting my story so much at the minute, and to be honest, there's no good reason. I feel quite guilty :(**

**I've decided what story I'm going to write next. I forgot to tell you about it when I wrote the chapter telling you about the stories. The next fan fic I intend to write is…**

***drumroll***

**A Twilight fan fic!**

**Yeppers. Sorry if you don't like Twilight, but it's actually an (another) OC story, so yeah (No Edward WOOOOOOO *Ahem* Anyway,). **

**Yes, that also means that this story is coming to an end. I estimate another two chapters and then it ends. Until then, R&R**

**IwriteUread **


	18. Chapter 18

'While I was away you got a _what?_' Casper said after a few seconds of silence.

'A new ability.' Tanya said, 'Like you reading minds.'

Iggy and Nudge looked at each other, and Ella looked at me and raised her eyebrows. I shrugged.

'Okaaay…' Casper said. 'And what _is _this new ability?' The expression on his face clearly said _Do I even want to know?_

'It's like…' Tanya said, 'Well, I don't really get it either.'

'Try to explain as best you can, Tanya.' Nudge, who had abandoned her food, said.

'It's like, I can touch people, like hold their hands or something, and it would tell me who they are, how old they are, their parents, and stuff like that.' Tanya said, curling a piece of hair around her finger.

'Really?' Ella said faintly, leaning back in her seat, a hand clutching her forehead.

Tanya nodded. 'Do you want me to show you?'

Iggy nodded. 'That would be nice.'

Tanya motioned to Ella, and Ella held out her hand, blinking. Tanya held it and closed her eyes.

'It takes a minute or two,' She said quietly, 'I remember at the Institute, they used to whip me to try and get me to do it faster.' She swallowed and shuddered.

'Now don't talk to me.' She muttered.

We sat in silence, Tanya and Ella's hands still clutching.

One minute…Two minutes…

Suddenly, Tanya opened her eyes. She blinked a few times and dropped Ella's hand.

'Well?' Casper said impatiently, folding his arms.

'Ella Rachel Martinez, thirty two years and five months old, your mother's Valencia Anderson and your father's Marcus Martinez. He divorced your mother when you were two.' She looked at Ella. 'Am I right?'

We all looked at Ella. Her mouth was open and she was staring at Tanya. After a few seconds, she nodded.

'Holy Sh…' Casper started, but then stopped when Nudge glared at him.

'God that's impressive.' Iggy said. Tanya smiled.

'Me next, me next!' Nudge said, sounding like a child. Tanya laughed and held out her hand. Nudge took it eagerly.

Silence.

'Monique Giselle Moore, thirty one years and one month, your mum's name is Brenna Cooke and your dad's is Max Moore.' She said.

Nudge nodded. 'That's right, Tanya! Wow, that's some ability!'

Tanya turned to Iggy. 'Do you…?'

Iggy shook his head. 'I already know everything I need to know.'

Casper looked at Tanya. 'Tanya, does this mean you can…?'

She nodded, a little sadly. 'I've already done it. We _are_ brother and sister.' She looked at her feet and sniffed suddenly.

'What about our parents…' Casper asked gently.

Tanya looked up, and one tear rolled down her feet. 'Casper…'

'What is it?' He asked.

'Casper, our parents were _whitecoats.' _She said. 'They donated us to the school to do research. There's a reason we've always been there.' She swallowed and wiped her hand across her eyes.

I looked at Casper.

_I'm sorry. _I thought.

_Don't be. It's fine. _

It so obviously wasn't, and when Casper spoke, his voice was shaking slightly.

'Are- Are they still in the Institute?' He asked, and the expression on his face clearly read _I hope so, because I'm going to find them and rip their heads off their shoulders. _

Tanya shook her head. 'No. They died when they were trying to create a new type of Eraser. It went wrong.' She folded her arms and set her trembling lip. 'Good riddance.'

There was silence. Finally, Tanya said. 'Melodie, do you want a go?'

'Huh?' I said. I had been thinking about my parents and wasn't paying attention.

'Do you want a go?' She repeated, holding out her hand.

I suddenly realised what she meant and sucked in a breath. This could be the chance to find out who my parents were, who _I _was.

I nodded, feeling slightly sick, and held out my hand. I realised it was shaking. Tanya grasped it and closed her eyes.

I suddenly became conscious that Tanya's hand was literally _heating up. _Getting warmer and warmer. But the heat was never painful. Slightly uncomfortable at the most.

One minute past… Two minutes… Three minutes…

When it came to the fifth minute, I started to worry. Tanya had her eyes squeezed shut and her grip on my hand was getting tighter and tighter.

_Oh God, what if I don't have a family? What if I just magically appeared from, like, a rock or something. Or what if…_

Tanya's grip loosened on my hand. I looked down at her. The expression on her face wasn't concentration, it was confusion. She stayed in that same position for another two minutes. Finally, she opened her eyes.

'Tanya?' I said warily.

Instead of facing me, she turned to face Iggy and Ella.

'Iggy, Ella? Did you _know _Melodie was your daughter?'

***

There was silence in the tiny kitchen. I looked at Iggy and Ella in shock. They stared back at me, equally surprised.

Finally, Iggy spoke. 'Come again?' He said faintly.

'It-It says that you two are Melodie's parents.' Tanya said, blinking.

'Is there a chance it could be wrong?' Ella said in a slightly higher voice than usual, leaning against a doorway.

'It's never been wrong before.' Tanya said, shaking her head. Her hand in mine was sweating slightly.

I looked at Iggy, then at Ella, then started and looked back at Iggy again. Now that I looked properly, I could see the similarities. The pale skin. The blonde hair. The green eyes. Of course, mine actually _worked. _Then I looked at Ella. I remembered the way she laughed. And if I looked closely, I noticed her nose was almost exactly the same as mine. And so was her mouth. I suddenly remembered what Ella had told me sitting on the back porch. It seemed like years ago.

_I have a daughter too. When I was sixteen. Accidentally. I didn't actually mean for anything to happen. We lived in dangerous times. The robots that are chasing you. They chased us as well. Even if they were slightly less evolved. But I couldn't keep her. It was too dangerous. We were too dangerous. I gave her to an orphanage._

I remembered asking her what the orphanage was called. She never got to tell me. I imagined the answer.

_Greenside Orphanage for Girls. _

I swayed where I stood, and Casper grabbed my arm so I didn't fall over.

_Oh my god, oh my god…_

Tears filled up in my eyes and spilled onto my cheeks. I looked at Ella and Iggy.

'Mom?' I said, and I swear, it sounded like it should have been in a corny soap opera, 'Dad?'

Ella walked forward, closely followed by Iggy, and wrapped her arms around me. I buried my face into the shoulder, trying to control the sobs that were threatening to burst out of me.

'My little girl.' Ella muttered in my ear. 'My Melodie.'

I decided it then, I could take whatever life threw at me.

As long as I had my family.

* * *

**Yeppers, everyone who guessed that Iggy and Ella were her parents, big thumbs up to you! I should probably win an award for slowest update in the history of person kind, but I'll get next chapter up ASAP (can't have my brilliant reviewers waiting ages for the last chapter, can I?). **

**You may also have seen that I changed the title. The title's never really felt right to me. It always felt like it was missing something. That something was the word 'My' and I discovered that one chapter from the end. How bright am I? **

**I'm guessing all you folks in America have read Fang by now? I think I owe an apology to Sonya Rivers for only telling her about 22 chapters of Fang. I'm ashamed to say this, but that's down to pure laziness. **

**R&R and you'll get a shout out next chapter!**

**IwriteUread**


	19. Chapter 19

**Welcome to the Last Chapter (sorry, but that just needed capitals) of My Melodie (I've just started to get used to the name). **

**Random: My mouse batteries ran out just as I was trying to log out of facebook. I managed to open Microsoft word using only the keyboard. I thought that was pretty impressive :) **

* * *

_Five months later…_

It was raining, drops of water hitting my nose as I looked out to the city. I sighed happily. The rain didn't bother me. Much.

I looked at Casper, sitting beside me on the roof. He rolled his eyes.

'Stupid unpredictable New York weather.' He muttered.

'I don't mind.' I said. 'I like the rain.'

'Of course you do.'

I kicked him lightly. 'Hey! I thought we'd already agreed that I'm not one of those preppy "Oh my god I want to be a cheerleader" type of girls.'

'When was this?' Casper asked, leaning back on the roof.

'As if you don't know.' I grinned, remembering that I needed to thank Tanya again.

'Melodie, I don't think beating me at arm wrestling because my little sister grabbed my neck from behind really counts.' He said.

'Of course it doesn't.'

'Hey, I…' He started, but I leaned over and kissed him on the mouth. His strong arms came around me and he angled his head.

We broke apart what seemed like years later.

'You're freezing.' He remarked.

I wrapped my arms around myself. 'I'm fine.'

'No you're not.' Before I could react, Casper had grabbed me and set me on his lap.

'Casper, for God's sake!' I said, trying to pull myself off.

'I would just give up now.' He whispered in my ear.

I relaxed against him. 'Fine. You win. Happy?'

'Extremely.'

I rolled my eyes. My face was against his rock hard chest.

'I'm soaking your t-shirt.' I muttered, trying to pull my hair out of the way.

'It's fine.'

'No it's not.' I said, trying to untie my long ponytail so I could retie it.

'Stop.' Casper said, grabbing my hand. 'I like it down.'

I gave a small smile and dropped my hand, but not letting go of Casper's.

We were sitting on a skyscraper in New York City, our legs dangling over the edge. The rain was falling heavily now, and I heard a rumble of thunder in the distance, followed by a flash of lightening.

'We should go.' I said, easing myself off Casper's lap. 'I don't want my mom to worry.' I still got a little thrill when I remembered that I had parents, my parents. Iggy and Ella. And they were the best parents ever. Not that I didn't have a parent before. I still thought about Judith sometimes. Wondering if she was happy, if she missed me. Wherever she was…

'You're probably right.' Casper said, though I could hear the regret clearly in his voice.

I stood up, and he stood beside me. We were still holding hands.

'One…' I started.

'Two…' Casper continued.

'THREE!' We both yelled.

Then we leapt off the roof.

The wind rushed past my ears, followed by another clap of thunder. I looked at Casper. He smiled at me. Then we both unfolded our wings, white and black overlapping.

We shot up into the air before we hit the ground. Then we were flying over the city, watching the bright lights turn into blurs as we flew faster and faster.

Right then, flying alongside Casper, I felt more free than I had ever felt in my life.

I looked at Casper. 'What are you thinking?' I asked him.

He didn't answer, just held my hand tighter as we flew over Central Park.

'Casper?'

'I'm thinking about how perfect this is.'

I looked at the ground.

'Melodie?' Casper asked, nudging me lightly.

I looked up, smiling slightly. I nodded.

'Perfect.'

* * *

**Yep, that's it. I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed this story:**

**Mustangridervwhc, maximumridelover15, Maximumridenumba1fan, Sonya Rivers, Magaferd, CrazyLittleMilkshakeMonster, , Fnick-is-Superman, Nighthawk21, :), MaxFangIggyNudgeGazzyAngel, Sarah, emotionalpoemgirl, Maximum101, totallove4total and TwilightObsessedOECD! Thanks for sticking with this story!**

**Also thanks to everyone who favourited or added to story alerts! You guys rock!**

**Well, look out for my TWILIGHT story, coming soon to a fan fiction near you! **

**IwriteUread **


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